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C A. WHITE :" 

.^^k.^ff^■'(ii^ CrKOUJtUHT, J'HOK. ok .IKOlXXrY IN (-.TATK li.N iVKltdlTV OP JuiV/i. 



DAVENPORT, IOWA : 

DAY, JjlGI^EHT, ^^ FIBLAJi 






^ys- 



'O 



ma:nual 



OF 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 



AND 



INSTITUTIONS 



OF THE 



STATE OF IOWA. 



By Ol^Ae^:WHITE, 

PROFESSOR OF GKOLOGY IN THE STATE UNIVERSITY, LATE STATE GEOLOGIST, &C. 




DAVENPORT: A 

DAY, EGBERT, & FIDLAR. 
1873. 



/ 






Entered according to the act of Congress, in tlie year 1873, 

By 0. A. WHITE, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



ic Rt—1H0 



PREFACE 



EVERY teacher knows how little any of our school books contain concerning the 
state in which we live, and that the little they do contain is often erroneous. 
The necessity for instructing our youth in relation to the physical character, 
resources, history, government, and institutions of the state, is too apparent to need 
comment. This little book is intended to meet that great want. I was induced to 
write it by the urgent request of some of my former pupils, who now occupy leading 
educational positions in Iowa, and also in compliance with a resolution of request by 
a convention of principals and superintendents of schools that met in Ottumwa, in 
January, 1873. 



HINTS TO TEACHERS. 

Every school room should have a good sectional map of the state hung where the 
scholars can see it constantly, and study it at proper times. It is necessary to have 
such a ma[> in connection with the study of this book, because the one accompanying 
it is too small for the purpose. Such a map is especially necessary in studying 
chapters II., III., and IV., of Part First. 

Before commencing the study of the book, the class should be instructed by the 
teacher in at least the outhnes of the geography of the state. Each pupil should 
become familiar with the name and position of each of the rivers, the names of the 
principal cities, and their location, and many other matters that the teacher will 
readily see the necessity for. Indeed, the book is so written as to presuppose some 
knowledge of this kind on the part of the pupil. 

Especial care has been taken to avoid error, but probably without entire 
success. It is very certain, too, that changes will be made from time to time in the 
laws and regulations explained and referred to, especially in Part Second. The 
teacher should be watchful in this respect, and be able to make any correction that 
may become necessary. 

The questions accompanying the text are intended merely to aid the teacher in 
preparing the daily lessons. They embrace only a small part of the questions that 
will naturally arise during the recitations. 



CONTENTS. 



IPj^I^/T I. 



:p-A.i^t II 



Chapter I. — Introduction. 

II. — Boundaries and Surveys. 

III. — Character OF the Surface. 

rV. — Rivers. 

V. — Lakes and Peat Marshes. 

VI. — Geology. 

YII. — Iowa Geology. 

YIII. — Mineral Resources. 

IX.— The Soil. 

X. — Productions of the Soil. 

XI. — Animals. 

XII — Miscellaneous Resq,urces. 

Xin. — Climate. 



Chapter I. — History. 

II. — State Government. 

in. — Counties and Townships. 

rV. — Cities and Towns. 
V. — Elections and Taxes. 
YI. — The Public School Systlm. 
Vn. — The State University and 

Stat^ Agricultural College. 
Vni. — Special Educational and 

Charitable Institutions. 
IX. — Penal and Reformatory. 

Institutions. 



PAET I. 
PHYSICAL aEOGKAPHY. 




CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTION. 



1. The Necessity for Comparative 
Study. — In commencing the study of any 
region of country, we may always get a 
better knowledge of the subject if we con- 
sider it in relation to surrounding regions, 
and by comparing it with other states or 
countries. This is especially true of Iowa, 
because the physical features of the state 
have a greater degree of uniformity in its 
various parts than those of the earth's sur- 
face will average. For example : Some 
of the states and territories have moun- 
tain ranges running through them, but 
Iowa is a comparatively level state, with 
no mountain ranges within, or near, its 
borders. Others border upon one of the 



oceans, or the Gulf of Mexico, but Iowa 
is an inland state, many hundred miles 
from any sea-coast. Some have great lakes 
(really, fresh-water seas) upon their bor- 
ders. Iowa is near no such lakes. In some 
states forests impeded their settlement and 
the cultivation of the soil. Iowa is a prai- 
rie state. 

2. The General Features of North 
America. — If we start from the mouth of 
the Mississippi, and follow it northward to 
its source, the highest surface we shall pass 
over is not much more than seventeen hun- 
dred feet above the level of the sea. We 
shall find the greatest elevation in the 



2 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 



broad, open country, not far from the 
northern boundary of the United States. 

Now, looking at a map of ISTorth Ameri- 
ca, we see that some of the tributaries of 
the Mississippi river reach out to the Alle- 
gheny range of mountains on the one hand, 
and to the Rocky Mountins on the other. 
Some of these streams, on either hand, 
being navigable nearly to the foot of the 
mountain ranges, the general slope of the 
country over which they flow is necessarily 
very slight. 

3. The Great Central Plain.— These 
facts show us that the central portion of 
North America is a great, comparatively 



level, land, having the Mississippi and Mis- 
souri rivers as the great drainage channels 
of its southern portion. The elevation of 
the whole of this interior plain is not very 
great. It is enclosed, as it were, by moun- 
tain ranges along both its eastern and west- 
ern borders, but it is without such elevated 
borders either to the northward or south- 
ward. 

4. Position of Iowa en the Conti- 
nent. — Iowa occupies a central position 
on this great. interior plain, being about 
equally distant from the two great oceans, 
and also about mid- way between the north- 
ern and southern borders of the continent. 



CHAPTER II. 

BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 
Section 1. Boundaries and Area. 



5. Boundaries. — The state has for its 
eastern and western boundaries, southerly 
flowing rivers ; the Mississippi on the east, 
and the Missouri, together with its tribu- 
tary, the Big Sioux, on the west. Its 
northern boundary is upon the north par- 
allel of 43 degrees and 30 minutes, and 
the southern boundary is nearly upon the 
parallel of 40 degrees and 36 minutes. 
These boundaries give the state a four- 
sided outline resembling a square. 

6. Ar-aa. — The distance from the 
northern to the southern boundary, ex- 
cluding the small prominent angle at the 



southeast corner of the state, is about two 
hundred miles ; and the greatest width of 
the state from east to west, is upward of 
three hundred miles. Owing to the irregu- 
lar course of the river boundaries, how- 
ever, the number of square miles the state 
contains does not amount to the multiple 
of those numbers. It has about 55,045 
square miles. An official report to the 
United States Senate gives the number of 
acres of land in Iowa as 35,288,200. 

7. Artificial Boundaries. — At least 
a part of the boundaries of all countries 
are natural boundaries, — that is, such as 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 



are produced by sea-coasts, rivers, moun- 
tain ranges, etc. ; but every civilized coun- 
try is divided up into portions of various 
sizes and shapes by artificial boundaries. 
These consist of lines surveyed from point 
to point, previously agreed upon or de- 
termined. Thus, cities, towns, counties, 
districts, and sometimes even states, are 
artificially bounded and divided, with little 
or no regard to the natural features of the 
country. 

Section 2. Land Surveys. 

8. Irregular Land Surveys. — Origi- 
nal surveys consist in establishing artificial 
division and boundary lines, and determin- 
ing the position of natural ones. These 
artificial lines are sometimes quite irregu- 
lar, as for example, in the towns and coun- 
ties of the New England and other states. 
The boundaries of these are irregular, and 
often crooked. Those that are straight 
seldom correspond with any of the cardi- 
nal points of the compass. This irregu- 
larity resulted from the want of a public 
system of land surveys when the country 
was first settled. The boundaries of es- 
tates were fixed by private citizens, and 
those of towns by local or personal influ- 
ences. These necessarily became publicly 
legalized, and have cousequently remained 
unchanged. 

9. The Rectangular System of Land 
Surveys. — A glance at the maps of Iowa 
and other interior states will show that the 
counties have generally a rectangular out- 
line, the boundaries having a north-and- 
south and east-and-west direction. It will 



be seen, also, that the counties are divided 
into squares of regular size, unless modi- 
fied by the rivers. The large maps show, 
also, that the whole land is divided into 
still smaller squares. 

This regularity in the division of the 
land is the result of an admirable system 
of surveys adopted by the United States 
Government in time to apply to our own, 
and other interior states, before they were 
settled. 

10. Every Person Should Under- 
stand this System. — Therefore, an ex- 
planation of it is given in the next section. 
Some of the minor details of less general 
importance are omitted. Beside the rela- 
tion of this system to the geography of the 
state, all deeds and leases of land, tax re- 
ceipts, and many of our laws, are written 
with direct reference to it. 

Section 3. United States Land Surveys. 

11. Original Ownership of the Land. 
— In the thirteen original states the state 
government of each owned the public 
lands, but in a majority of the states and 
territories the United States government 
was the first owner as regards its own 
citizens. This was the case with all the 
land in Iowa, and all deeds and transfers 
of it are traced back to this source and 
no further. Before the land could be dis- 
posed of to the citizens it was necessary 
to divide it into small parcels, and the sys- 
tem here described was devised for that 
purpose. The civil division of the state 
into towns, counties, etc., although based 
upon the land surveys, was a subsequent 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 



and separate matter, and will be described 
in Part Second. 

12. Points. — This system of Public 
Land Surveys provides for the division of 
the whole country into small, square por- 
tions, of uniform size, varying from that 
shape only when the larger rivers, lakes, 
or sea borders make it necessary. To 
begin such a division of the land, there 
must of course be fixed points and lines 
to measure from. The points may be es- 
tablished anywhere, but usually some 
natural landmark is selected for them, and 
a record made of its latitude and longi- 
tude. 

13. Primary Lines. — The primary 
lines starting from such points are of two 
kinds, namely : those running due north 
and south, and those running due east 
and west. The former are called ^^Princi- 
pal Meridians^" and the latter, ^^Base 
Lines.'''' 

14. Principal Meridians. — As errors 
of measurement are unavoidable in mak- 
ing extensive surveys, because it is incon- 
venient to continue surveys around great 
lakes and across large rivers with suffi- 
cient accuracy, and for other reasons, one 
principal meridian would not answer for 
the whole country. Therefore, new ones 
have been established as the surveys have 
been made farther and farther westward. 

15. The Fifth Principal Meridian is 
the one from which all the north and south 
lines are measured. Its point of starting 
is at the mouth of the Arkansas river, in 



the state of Arkansas. It runs due iiorth 
through Missouri and the eastern part of 
Iowa, and ends upon the bank of the Mis- 
sissippi river at the boundary line between 
Clayton and Dubuque counties. 

16. The Base Line from which all the 
east and west lines in Iowa are measured 
starts from the mouth of the St Francis 
river, in Arkansas, and runs due west. 
It crosses the fifth principal meridian five 
miles west of the place of its own begin- 
ning, and forty-eight miles north of the 
place of beginning of the meridian. The 
point of intersection of these two primary 
lines is really the point from which all the 
Iowa land surveys are measured, as well 
as those of Arkansas and Missouri. 

17. Division into Townships. — Com- 
mencing with the base line and the fifth 
principal meridian, the whole country 
adjacent, and in a western, and northern 
direction especially, extending hundreds 
of miles, is divided into squares six miles 
across. These squares are called town- 
ships, and are designated by numbers, and 
not by names such as arc given to the 
civil townships. They arc often, however, 
called " congressional townships," because 
they were authorized by a law of congress. 
This name is also used to distinguish them 
from civil townships, which arc establish- 
ed by the people of each county (see Part 
n., paragraph 63). 

18. The Township Numbers begin 
with No. 1 on each side of the base line, 
and count from that line both north and 
south. For example, every township in 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 



the first tier north (or south either) of the 
base line, however far westward or east- 
ward the tier may extend, is township No. 
1. If we speak of any of these townships 
west of our principal meridian, we say it 
is township No. 1 west of the fifth princi- 
pal meridian. 

19. Township Numbers in Iowa.— 

Since the township numbers begin so far 
south, No. 65 is reached when we get so 
far north as the city of Keokuk, and the 
number of the northern tier of townships 
in Iowa is 100. The latter fact shows 
that the northern boundary of Iowa is 
about six hundred miles north of the base 
line from which our townships are num- 
bered. Every township, then, in any one 
of the many long tiers that extend across 
the state from east to west has the same 
number in each tier. For example, Du- 
buque and Sioux City are both in town- 
ship 89, a'though they are nearly three 
hundred miles apart. Des Moines and 
Davenport are both in township 78, al- 
though the two cities are more than one 
hundred and fifty miles apart. 

20. Ranges. — This giving of the same 
number to many townships may at first 
seem like an imperfection in the system, 
but it is not, for, commencing on each 
side of the principal meridian with No. 1, 
the townships are again numbered, but 
this time, eastward and westward. This 
second series of numbers are the numbers 
— not, properly speaking, of townships, 
but of ranges of townships. So, if we give 
the number of the range in addition to the 



proper township number of any particular 
congressional township it cannot be mis- 
taken for any other. 

21. Examples in Iowa. — For exam- 
ple, Dubuque, as before stated, is in town- 
ship 89, but it is in range 2 east of the 
fifth principal meridian, while Sioux City, 
also in township 89, is in range 47 west of 
that meridian. 

22. Use of these numbers as Guides 
to Localities. — After one becomes famil- 
iar with this system of surveys he may 
calculate nearly the exact position of any 
township in the state as soon as he hears 
their proper numbers spoken. For exam- 
ple. Storm Lake is in township 90 north 
of the base line, and in range 37 west of 
the fifth principal meridian. That town- 
ship is therefore ten townships, or about 
sixty miles south of the northern state 
boundary. It is also thirty-six ranges, or 
about two hundred and sixteen miles w^est 
of the fifth principal meridian, which, in 
that tier of townships, is not far from the 
Mississippi river. 

23. Correction Lines. — Since me- 
ridian lines converge toward the pole, it 
follows that range lines, being all meridi- 
ans, and starting six miles apart on the 
base line in Arkansas, would come nearer 
and nearer together the farther they were 
continued northward, if they were allowed 
to pursue an uninterrupted course. 

The spaces, then, enclosed between the 
township and range lines, are not, after 
all, premely square, but are a little nar- 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 



rower at the north, than they are at the 
south, side. This is illustrated by Figure 



North Haic. 




1. To remedy this, and to keep the town- 
ships as accurately as possible, of uniform 
and regular size, certain of the township 
lines are made correction lines. These 
correction lines serve in part for the cor- 
rection of such errors as may have been 
made in bringing the surveys so far north 
from the base line. They also serve the 
purpose, in part, of new base lines, for 
upon them the range lines are placed jupt 



six miles apart again. This corrects the 
convergence the range lines had suffered 
in extending northward toward the pole. 
See Fig. 1. 

24. Correction Lines in Iowa. — 
There are two correction lines running 
entirely across the state from east to west; 
one constituting the northern border of 
the 78th tier of townships, and the other, 
the northern border of the 88th tier. 
There are two or three others in the state, 
but they are short, and of less importance, 
having been established to correct irregu- 
larities in surveying. The northern" and 
southern boundaries of the state are also, 
either wholly, or in part, correction lines. 

25. Section Lines. — Each township 
is divided by both east and west and north 
and south lines into thirty-six equal parts, 
called sections; and the lines are called 
section lines. Each section is, of course, 
one mile square, and contains six hundred 
and forty acres. Sections are divided into 
quarters by " half-section lines." Quarter- 
sections may be, and often are, divided in 
a similar manner into four equal parts, 
called quarters of quarter-sections. 

26. Numbering Sections and Desig- 
nating their Parts. — The sections of each 
township are numbered from one to thirty- 
six, beginning in the northeast corner of 
the township, and counting in the order 
shown in Figure 2. This order in plac- 
ing the numbers is never departed from, 
and one soon learns to tell his position in 
a township by learning the number of the 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 



Fig. 2. 



section he is upon. 
Sections are divided 
into quarters, by half- 
section lines (a, b, and 
c, d, Fig. 3). The 
quarters of a section 
are designated as the 
northeast, the north- 
Diagram of a Township, west, the southwest, 
and the southeast quarters, as shown in 
Figure 3, The quarters of quarter-sec- 
tions are designated in a similar manner, 



6 1 5 1 4 1 3 1 2 1 


7 1 8 1 9 1 10 1 11 1 12 


18 1 17 1 16 1 15 1 14 1 13 


19 1 20 1 21 1 22 1 23 24 


30 29 28 1 27 26 | 25 


31 1 32 1 33 1 34 1 35 36 



Fig. 3. 



Northwest 
Quarter. 


Northeast 
Quarter. 


Southwest 
Quarter. 


Southeast 
Quarter. 



and Figure 3 will 
illustrate it if we call 
it the diagram of a 
quarter -section, in- 
stead of a section. 
**For example: Sup- 
posing Section 10 
were to be divided 
into quarters, and 
Diagram of a Section its northeast quarter 
were also divided into quarters; these last- 
named quarters would be called the north- 
east, the northwest, the southwest, and 
the southeast, quarters of the northwest 
quarter of section 10.* 

27. Description of Land. — By means 
of this excellent system of land surveys, a 
clear and accurate description may be 
given of any farm or piece of land in very 
few words. For example : If a deed for 



*NoTE TO THE Teacher. — Let the pupils be 
exercised as to the number of acres in each divis- 
ion or part of a section, the order of the section 
numbers in a township, and the position of any 
given section in relation to each border of the 
township. 



the forty acres in the extreme southwest 
corner of Cedar county wei e to be written, 
the description would read thus : " The 
southwest quarter of the southwest quarter 
of section thirty-one, in township seventy- 
nine north,* range four west of the fifth 
principal meridian." 

Although the descriptions are so brief, 
they are sometimes made shorter by ab- 
breviation. The foregoing description 
may be abbreviated thus : SW|^ of SW^ 
of Sec. 31, Tp. 79, K, range 4 W of 5th 
P. M. 

Since the full description is so short, 
and the danger of mistakes is increased 
by the use of abbreviations, the latter 
should not be used in writings of great 
importance. 

28. Maps. — A "township map" is 
one which gives only the township and 
range lines of the survey. A " sectional 
map" is one which gives the section lines 
also, in addition to the township and range 
lines. Maps drawn on a larger scale, such 
as some county maps, give, in addition to 
the other lines, half and quarter section 
lines also, and sometimes even the other 
boundaries of farms, etc. On sectional 
and township maps the range numbers 
are usually placed just above the northern, 
and just below the southern, boundary of 
the state. The township numbers are 
placed along the principal meridian, or 
along some other north and south line in 
the body of the map. 



*That is, north of the base line, which, as 
already explained, is in Arkansas. 




Fig. 4. 



29. The General Level. — It has al- 
ready been shown that Iowa is in the 
midst of a broad, comparatively level land. 
(Consequently the state cannot have a very 
great diversity of surface. Those who 
live near the larger rivers may think this 
is a mistake because they see bluffs and 
valleys all around them. But it is the 
average of the whole state that is meant 
when it is said to be comparatively level. 
One has generally to go only a short dis- 
tance from the bluffs that border the river 
valleys and look out over the country, for 
it is mostly prairie away from the valleys, 
to see that, although the surface is some- 
what uneven, it presents the appearance 
of a general indistinct level as far as the 
eye can reach. From this general level 
no high hills arise, and below it there are 



no deep depressions except the river val- 
leys. 

30. Valleys worn out of the Gen- 
eral Level. — Geologists believe that the 
valleys of Iowa have been worn down 
from the general level by the same streams 
that now flow in them. In some places 
the valleys have been worn out of the 
earthy material alone, but in others the 
rocky ledges also have been w^orn through. 

31. VaUey-Sides and Hills.— There 
are, then, not only no mountains in Iowa, 
but there are very few hills either, prop- 
erly speaking. It is true that the steep 
sides of valleys are often spoken of as 
hills and hillsides, but they are more prop- 
erly called valley-sides, because they are 
below the general level of the surrounding 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 




country. A hill is, properly, an elevation 
of land above the level of the surrounding 
country. 

32. Drainage Slopes. — It must not 
be understood that this so-called general 
level of surface of the state is an actual 
level. If it were so the waters would not 
drain off and the streams would not flow. 
Figure 4 shows how the streams of the 
eastern part of Iowa flow southeastward 
into the Mississippi, and that those of the 
western part flow southwestward into the 
Missouri. 

Both the great rivers also flow south- 
ward. These facts show that there are 
not only an eastern and a western drain- 
age slope, but also that the whole state 
slopes to the southward. The eastern, is 
often called the Mississippi slope, and the 
western, the Missouri slope. 

33. Water-Sheds. — The elevation or 
line which divides the Missouri and Mis- 
sissippi drainage slopes is often called 



"the great divide," and sometimes, "the 
dividing ridge." A more proper name 
for it is 'great water-shed.' It is called 
the great water-shed because it sheds the 
draininge each way into the two great 
rivers, and also to distinguish it from sec- 
ondary water-sheds between the smaller 
rivers. The latter also are commonly 
called divides. None of the water-sheds 
in Iowa are really ridges. On the con- 
trary, they are usually the flattest portions 
of the state. They have retained their 
original flatness of surface because no val- 
leys have been worn out of it there. 

34. The Great Water-Shed in Iowa. 
— If one should start at the northern state 
boundary to follow the great water-shed, 
he would cross, either wholly or in part, 
the following counties: Dickinson. Clay, 
Buena Vista, Sac, Carroll, Audabon, Guth- 
rie, and Adair. So far southward it consti- 
tutes the highest land along any east and 
west line that may be drawn across the 
state. In Adair county the great water- 



10 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 



shed bends away to the southeastward and 
passes across greater or smaller portions of 
Madison, Union, Clarke, Lucas, and Appa- 
noose counties, when it passes into Mis- 
souri. Along this latter part of its course 
the great water-shed is not the highest 
land between the two great rivers, but 
that highest land southward from an east- 
and-west line through Adair county is the 
secondary watershed between Grand and 
Platte rivers. This water-shed passes from 
Adair, through Union and Ringgold coun- 
ties to Missouri. The position of this high 
secondary water-shed is shown in the dia- 
gram Figure 4 by the single dotted line, 
while the double dotted line, extending 
from the northern to the southern state 
boundary, shows the position of the great 
water-shed. 

35. Elevation of Iowa above the 
Level of the Sea.— The height of the 
surface above the level of the sea, at many 
places in the state, has been ascertained 
by means of the barometer, and by rail- 
road levelings from those, and other places. 
From these measurements the average 
height of the whole surface of the state 
has been estimated at between eight hun- 
dred and nine hundred feet. This seems 
to be a very slight elevation when wo re- 
member that Iowa is nearly in the center 
of the continent. 

36. Elevation of Principal Points 
above the Sea. — The surface of the Mis- 
sissippi at low water, at the southeast cor- 
ner of the state, 444 feet. 

The surface of the Mississippi at low 



water, at the northeast corner of the state, 
660 feet. 

The surface of the Big Sioux at low 
water, at the northwest corner of the state, 
about 1,344 feet. 

The surface of the Missouri at low wa- 
ter, at the southwest corner of the state, 
954 feet. 

The surface of the great water-shed at 
the northern state-boundary, near Spirit 
lake in Dickinson county, about 1,694 feet. 

The surface of the highest ground be- 
tween the Mississippi and Missouri, at the 
southern state -boundary, in Ringgold 
county, about 1,220 feet. 

37. Slope per Mile. — Now, by ascer- 
taining the distance from one to another 
of all these points, the rate of slope of the 
general surface is shown to be as follows : 
From the great water -shed, along the 
northern state-boundary to the northeast 
corner of the state, 5 feet 5 inches per 
mile. 

From the same starting point to the 
northwest corner of the state, 5 feet per 
mile. 

From the highest land between the two 
great rivers, along the southern state- 
boundary to the southeast corner of the 
state, 5 feet 7 inches per mile. 

From the same starting point to the 
southwest corner of the state, 4 feet 1 inch 
per mile. 

From the northeastern to the south- 
eastern corner of the state, in a straight 
line, 1 foot 1 inch per mile. 

From the northwestern to the south- 
western corner of the state, in a straight 
line, 2 feet per mile. 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 



11 




From the highest point in the state 
(near Spirit lake), to the lowest point (at 
the mouth of the Des Moines river), 4 feet 
per mile. 

38. Illustration. — It is difficult to 
form a correct idea of these slopes when 
given in feet and miles, but if the scale is 
reduced to feet and inches we find that 
the steepest slope mentioned in the last 
paragraph amounts to only about one-sev- 
enth of an inch in ten feet. The average 
surface of our state, then, is really as level 
as floors usually are. All the diversity 
which we see about the valleys and ra- 
vines, and upon the rolling prairies, are 
only wrinkles, as it were, in this general 
level surface. Although the term wrin- 



kles is used, we must not forget that there 
is really much diversity of surface, even 
upon the prairies, and that many of the 
valleys are large and very beautiful. 

Section 2. The Prairies. 

39. Description. — Prairies are more 
or less extensive tracts of land without 
trees, and covered with grasses intermin- 
gled with many bright- flowered plants. 
They may be so level as to look much 
like the quiet surface of the sea, or they 
may be what are called rolling prairies. 
The latter are so called because of the pe- 
culiar appearance of the surface. While 
the river valleys were being deepened by 
the steady flow of water for thousands of 



12 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 




years, the drainage of the surface water 
into the upper branches of the rivers dur- 
ing that time gradually made broad 
smooth hollows in the surface and left 
smoothly rounded ridges between them. 
This has caused the surface of such prai- 
ries to look much like that of the sea when 
it is covered with large rolling waves. 
This hkeness to the sea is much increased 
when, in summer, a real wavy motion is 
produced by the wind upon the grass. A 
seeming motion is also often caused by the 
shifting shadows of swiftly moving clouds 
over the rounded ridges. 

40. The Prairies of Iowa are almost 
all rolling. A few are somewhat flat, such 
as some of those in Des Moines, Henry, 



and Wayne counties, and some also upon 
the great water-shed. The valley bottoms 
and sides, especially those of the larger 
streams, are usually covered with forest 
trees, but even these are sometimes prai- 
rie surfaces. Almost without exception 
the broad high lands between the valleys 
are now or formerly were prairies. They 
often extend from these high lands with- 
out interruption to the water's edge of the 
smaller rivers and creeks, but usually in 
such valleys there is a continuous border, 
or occasional clumps, of trees standing 
near the water. 

41. Origin of the Prairies. — The 
question is often asked, "How came trees 
to be absent from the prairies?" Yet 



BOUNDARIES AND SURVEYS. 



13 



this absence from the prairies is no more 
wonderful than their presence npon for- 
est ground is. However all this may be, 
it is very certain that the prairies remain 
such in consequence of the annual fires. 
This is known to be so because forest 
trees naturally and quickly encroach upon 
all praries when fires are prevented, and 
because all kinds of trees that grow na- 
turally in the state will thrive well when 
transplanted upon prairie soil. 

42. Prairie Fires. — Almost every au- 
tumn or winter the dry grass of the larger 
prairies is burned oiF by fires lighted by 
accident or otherwise. But the roots are 
not injured and the grass starts fresh and 
vigorously in the spring. The fires are 
dangerous to fences, buildings, and crops 
upon the neighboring farms. Many per- 
sons have also lost their lives by being 
caught in the flames, which move rapidly 
and are very destructive when the wind is 
high. The fires may usually be controlled 
with little trouble if the air is still. 

43. The Prairies are Disappearing. 
— It is estimated that, when the state be- 
gan to be settled, at least nine-tenths of 
the surface was occupied by prairies. Ever 
since then they have been rapidly grow- 



ing smaller and disappearing. This is 
caused largely by the cultivation of the 
land, but also by the encroachment of the 
forest trees upon them by natural growth. 
When the latter change takes place the 
prairies become like any other wood-land ; 




and if by the former, they become like 
any ordinary cultivated country. Large 
prairies are yet to be seen in many of the 
counties, but it is in the northwestern part 
of Iowa where they have become least 
changed, because it is that part that is at 
present least occupied by farms and villa- 
ges. 




CHAPTER IV. 



RIVERS. 



44. Names of Rivers. — The Indian 
names of many of the rivers in Iowa have 
been retained, and written more or less 
nearly as they were pronounced by them ; 
or else their meaning has been translated 
into English. But some of the rivers 
were named by the early settlers. It was 
their habit to retain the name of the main 
stream for all its branches. These they 
called " forks," and added the word, 
"east," "west," "north," "south," or 
" middle," as the case required. Thus 
we have the East, West, and Middle ITod- 
away rivers, the North, South, and Mid- 



dle Raccoon rivers, etc. It would have 
been better if separate names had been 
applied to all the branches, but it is very 
difficult to change the name of any nat- 
ural object after the people have once 
made general use of it. 

45. The Water of all the rivers ot 
Iowa 18 usually clear, except that of the 
Missouri. That river is one of the mud- 
diest streams on the globe. It contains 
more sediment when the water is high 
than when it is low, but it is always so 
muddy that no object can be seen in it be- 



RIVERS. 



15 



neath its surface. The sediment gives 
the water a dirty-yellow color, something 
lik(3 that of the puddles which we see in 
the road after a rain. The water of the 
other rivers is generally made quickly 




muddy by heavy rains, because the chan- 
nels of the greater part of the upper 
branches are muddy, and not gravelly or 
rocky. 

46. The Valleys have nearly flat 
flood-plaines, from two to ten times as 
wide as the stream is between its banks. 
These flood-plains are commonly called 
" bottoms " in Iowa, and are usually cov- 
ered with forest trees. A part of the 
bottom land is covered by freshets every 
year. A little more of it is covered by 



extraordinary floods, but some parts of 
the bottoms of all the valleys are not now 
reached, even by the highest floods, be- 
cause the rivers have worn their channels 
deeper since such parts were formed. 



47. The Bluffs.— Some- 
times the valley sides slope 
gently away from the bottoms 
to the high lands, but the val- 
leys are often bordered by steep 
sides, called blufi-s. From tlu' 
top of these usually begins the 
general level of surface between 
all the rivers. The bluffs differ 
in height and character in dif- 
ferent parts of the state and 
along different valleys. 



48. The Mississippi Bluffs 
are almost continuous from tlie 
northern to the southern state 
boundary. Their sides are often 
steep and rocky. They vary in 
height from one hundred and 
fifty feet to more than four hundred feet 
above the level of the river, the highest be- 
ing near the northeast corner of the state. 
Standing upon the top of these bluffs, a per- 
son may often see, at one view, the river, 
the bottom, the opposite bluffs, and some- 
times a large space of the high land be- 
yond. At a few places the bluflTs are near 
the river upon both sides. This is the 
case along both the upper and lower rap- 
ids, at Dubuque, etc., but ususally the 
bluffs are from four to eight miles apart 
below Dubuque, and from two to three 



16 



RIVERS. 



miles apart above that city. Below Du- 
buque, the bluffs are not usually so steep 
and rocky as they are above ; nor are they 
so high. 

49. The Mississippi Bottom. — As 
one stands upon any of the bluffs of that 
part of the river above Dubuque, looking 
up and down, the valley appears like an 
immense, crooked canal, nearly emptied 
of its water, and with trees growing upon 
a part of its bottom. The bottom along 
this part of the valley is much divided 
into islands by what are called sloughs. 
These are really separate channels in 
which parts of the river run for short dis- 
tances and then join each other, or the 
main stream, again. Below Dubuque, 
islands are also formed in the same man- 
ner, but not 80 many. The river in this 
parts of its course runs from side to side 
of the broad bottom, coming near the 
bluffs first upon one side and then upon 
the other. This leaves many broad por- 
tions of the bottom, stretching, in some 
places, five or six miles out from the base 
of the bluffs. The Mississippi bottom is 
usually covered with forest trees, but in 
some places it is prairie. 

50. Slope of the Mississippi. — The 
slope of one foot and one inch per mile, giv- 
en in paragraph 37, is for a straight line from 
the northeast to the southeast corner of 
the state, but the slope of the river be- 
tween those two points is only half as 
much, or only an average of about six 
inches per mile. This is because the 
great bends of the river shown on the 



map, together with the very numerous 
short bends which the map does not show, 
make the distance by the channel of the 
river about twice as great as it is in a 
straight line. 

51. Rapids of the Mississippi. — At 
two different places in the Mississippi the 
slope is much greater than the average, 
as given in the last paragraph. This 
makes the current so much swifter at 
those places, that they are called rapids. 
The current is not too swift to allow 
steamboats to pass up over them, but 
there are many rocks under the water 
which make it more dangerous for steam- 
boats there than it is in other parts of the 
river, if they do not carefully keep the 
channel. When the water in the river is 
very low, it is sometimes so shallow upon 
the rapids that steamboats cannot pass 
over them, even when they can sail with 
ease in other parts of the river. 

52. The Lower Rapids occupy that 
part of the river which lies between Keo- 
kuk and Montrose. They are sometimes 
called the Des Moines rapids, probably 
because they are so near the mouth of the 
Des Moines river. Their length is about 
twelve miles, and the slope in the whole 
distance is about twenty-five feet. A 
canal is now being made along the Iowa 
shore of the rapids, in which steamboats 
may pass by them in safety at any stage 
of water. 

53. The Upper Rapids are some- 
times called the Rock Island rapids, be- 
cause that island lies in the river at their 



RIVERS. 



17 



lower end, where it divides the rapid cur- 
rent. These rapids are about fifteen 
miles long, and extend from Davenport 
to Le Claire. The slope for the whole 
length is about twenty-six feet. 

54. The Bluffs of the Missouri, 

along the border of Iowa, are very diifer- 
ent from those of the Mississippi. They 
have no rocky sides, and, inaeed, they 
contain no rocks at all except at a few 
places, where they are found near their 
base. The bluffs are composed through- 
out of a fine, earth 3^ substance, the surface 
of which forms the soil. They do not 
present steep, continuous faces to the val- 
ley, such as are often seen in the Missis- 
sippi bluffs. They are broken up into 
numerous smoothly-rounded summits, so 
that Ihey look like a multitude of small 
hills resting upon the high border of the 
valley. Their average height between 
the mouth of Big Sioux river and the 
southern state boundary is from two hun- 
dred to nearly three hundred feet above 
the river. Their sides are so steep, it is 
often difiicult to climb them. The ra- 
vines among the bluffs usually contain 
some forest trees. These are gradually 
encroaching upon the bare sides, but the 
greater part of their surface is yet covered 
only with grass 

55. The Missouri Bottom varies in 
width from five to twelve miles between 
the bluffs on either side. In most res- 
pects it is much like the Mississippi bot- 
tom, but it has not so large a part of its 
surface covered with trees. The greater 



part of the bottom is prairie, especially 
those portions at a distance from the 
river. The prairie portion is annually 
covered with a very rank growth of grass 
and other plants. A large part of the 
Missouri bottom is never reached by the 
highest floods of the river, and is regard- 
ed as a very valuable region on account 
of its remarkable fertility. It contains 
villages, railroads, and many very exten- 
sive farms. 

56. The Slope of the Missouri, 

along the border of Iowa, is one foot per 
mile, and it is therefore a much swifter 
stream than the Mississippi. This is, of 
course, the slope of the channel in all its 
windings. 

57. The Smaller Rivers.— The des- 
cription of these rivers and their valleys 
is necessarily brief, and is intended o nly 
to give the pupil a general idea of their 
character. Some of them are grouped 
together for description, because they are 
so much like each other. Indeed, all the 
rivers of Iowa are much more like each 
other than they would be in a less level 
country. Although the scenery of Iowa 
valleys is less striking and more uniform 
than that of some others, the valleys of 
these rivers are often very beautiful. 

58. The VaUeys of the Eastern 
Drainage Slope have rocks exposed in 
their valley sides at more or less frequent 
intervals, but, except a few boulders, 
rocks are seldom seen in any of the small 
upper branches. The valley sides often 
slope gently to the high lands, but all the 



18 



RIVERS. 



valleys have rocky bluflEs, of greater or 
less height, in some part of their course. 
Those rivers especially, which empty into 
the Mississippi in the northeastern part 
of the state, have high, rocky blufl's, on 
both sides of their valleys. Their scenery 
is, consequently, much bolder than that 
of the othtT valleys. 

59. The Upper Iowa River. — It is 

unfortunate that this name should have 
been retained for our most northeasterly 
river, because a still larger one in the 
state is called the Iowa river. The name 
is not even appropriate, according to the 
habit the early setters had of applying the 
words, upper, lower, etc., to different 
branches of the same stream, because 
these two Iowa streams have no connec- 
tion with each other. The Upper Iowa 
empties into the Mississipi near the north- 
ern state boundary. Its valley is cut deeply 
out of rocky strata nearly its whole 
length, and it differs from most of the 
other valleys of the eastern drainage 
slope in having a narrower bottom and 
higher bluffs. This is said to be the 
only river of Iowa in the branches of 
which trout are found. 

60. Turkey River is much like the 
Iowa, as regards both its stream and val- 
ley. Its bluffs, which are usually rocky, 
do not average quite so high, and its bot- 
tom is somewhat wider. 

61. The Maquoketa and Wapse- 
pinicon Rivers are much like each oth- 
er. Their valleys are a little broader and 
not so deep as that of Turkey river. 



Their bluffs are usually rather low, but 
frequently rocky, especially along the 
principal portions. 

62. The Iowa and Cedar Rivers.— 
The stream and valley of the principal 
part of Cedar river are much like those 
of the Maquoketa and Wapsepinicon, but 
that branch of it called the Shellrook 
is more rocky than is usual with the 
branches of the other rivers of the state. 
The Iowa has many rather low, rocky 
bluffs, in different parts of its course, but 
a large part of its valley has gently slop- 
ing sides, and broad bottom lands. 

63. Skunk River. — The Indian name 
of Skunk river was Checauqua, and 
ought not to have been translated. There 
are occasional rocky bluffs in the valley 
sides of the lower part of its course, but 
a large part of its valley has the sides 
sloping gradually away from a broad bot- 
tom to the high lands. A large part 
of the bottom is overflowed by high wa- 
ter, which made travel across it very dif- 
ficult, at times, before good roads and 
bridges were constructed. 

64. The Des Moines River rises in 
southwestern Minnesota, and flows en- 
tirely through Iowa, in a southeasterly 
direction. Except a few boulders, no 
rocks are seen in its valley as far down 
as Humboldt county. The valley has 
very little flat bottom land in that part of 
its course, and its sides slope away gently 
and blend with the high land. South- 
ward from Humboldt county, the valley 



RIVERS. 



19 



grows broader. Its bottom is more dis- 
tinct from the sloping valley sides, and 
exposures of rocky ledges are sometimes 
seen. Southward from Wapello county, 
the bluffs begin to be more distinct, and 
frequently rocky. 

65. Valleys of the Western Drain- 
age Slope. — These valleys have, as a 
rule, far less rock exposed in them, and 
contain fewer forest trees. In some of 
them no rocks, except a few boulders, are 
to be seen, and rocky bluffs are rare in 
any. 

66. Chariton, Grand, and Noda- 
way Rivers. — The streams known by 
these names in Iowa are only branches 
of rivers in Missouri, which bear those 
names. They empty into the Missouri 
in that state. Their valleys in Iowa, es- 
pecially the first two, are much like those 
of the southeastern part of the state. 
They have occasional exposures of rock 
in the sides of their principal portions, 
and their bottoms there have a greater or 
lees growth of forest trees upon them. 
Grand river valley contains a greater 
amount, both of rock and forest trees, 
than any other valley of the Missouri 
drainage slope. Chariton valley has, how- 
ever, about an equal amount of wood- 
land. 

67. The Nishnabotany Rivers have 
smooth, beautiful valleys, the prairies 
often extending down to the water, and 
their valley sides gently sloping away to 
the high lands. Their bottoms are often 
broad, and because they have a very gen- 



tle slope towards the stream, they are us- 
ually as dry as ordinary prairie. Rock is 
found exposed in their valleys at only a 
few places, and forest trees are not plen- 
tiful there. 

68. The Little Sioux, and other 
rivers to the southward, together with 
the Floyd, to the northward, have, almost 
without exception, no exposures of rock 
in their valleys, except a few scattered 
boulders. These are usually more nu- 
merous in the upper part of the courses 
of the valleys, because in the lower part 
the drift, which contains the boulders, is 
covered by another deposit. Some forest 
trees are found near the streams, but 
woodland is not extensive anywhere in 
this part of the state. These streams 
run through a rolling prairie region. 
Their valley sides are never rocky, and 
seldom steep, but are usually undulating, 
and more or less gently sloping. The 
bottoms are seldom flat, like the bottoms 
of the other valleys described, and are, 
consequently, excellent, tillable land. 

69. The Big Sioux rises in Dakota. 
Downward, from the place where it 
reaches the northwest corner of the state, 
it forms the western state boundary until 
it empties into the Missouri. Upon the 
Iowa side, the valley is bordered along 
most of the distance with rather high, 
rounded bluffs. These are often quite 
steep, and for several miles from the 
mouth of the river they resemble the 
Missouri bluffs. A few miles up the 
stream, from the northwest corner of 
Iowa, the Big Sioux, by a series of cas- 



20 



LAKES AND PEAT MARSHES. 



cades, over ledges of hard red rock, falls 
from a height of sixty feet, within the 
distance of half a mile. There are no 
falls in that portion of the river which 
aojoins Iowa. Its slope is much like that 
of the other rivers of Iowa, except the 
eight or ten miles nearest its mouth, 
where the current is sluggish. No rocks, 
except a few boulders, are found in the 



valley or bluffs, along much the greater 
part of its course upon the borders of the 
state. The bottom, in the greater part of 
this distance, is much like that of the up- 
per part of the Des Moines, but at its 
southern end it is flat and very broad. 
There are comparatively few trees in the 
valley, and the whole course of the river 
is through a great prairie region. 



CHAPTER V. 



LAKES AND PEAT MARSHES. 



70. Bottom Lakes. — These are so 
called because they are found upon the 
river bottoms, and also to distinguish them 
from the upland lakes. They once form- 
ed parts of the channels of the rivers near 
which they are found, and have been cut 
off by the shifting of those channels. All 
of our rivers are gradually shifting their 
channels in some places, by the wearing 
of the current. Sometimes a new chan- 
nel is cut through a part of the bottom, 
and the part of the channel thus left be- 
comes a lake by having its ends stopped 
up with the drifting sand and mud brought 
by the current. Such lakes may exist 
upon the bottom of any valley, but they 
are larger and more numerous upon the 
Missouri bottom than any others in Iowa. 
A few of these are now above the reach 
of the river floods, but usually the highest 
floods reach them. Some of the former 



in the valleys of the smaller rivers have 
become filled with peat. Even the larg- 
est of these lakes are nameless and of lit- 
tle importance. Some of them are repre- 
sented upon the larger maps of the state. 

71. The Upland Lakes are found on 
or near the water-sheds of the northern 
part of the state. I^one are found in the 
southern part. Many of them are very 
beautiful. They have clear water, grav- 
elly beaches and dry, grassy slopes to their 
shores, but they are mostly small, and in 
some parts of the country, the largest of 
them would be called ponds. The four 
following are the largest and best known : 

72. Spirit Lake is noted as the place 
of a terrible massacre of white people by 
the Indians, in 1857. It lies upon the 
great water-shed in Diokiu.son county. 



LAKES AND PEAT MARSHES. 



21 



with its northern shore upon the north- 
ern boundary of the state. Its surface 
contains between ten and twelve square 
miles, its greatest width and greatest 
length being each about four miles. Its 
beach is gravelly and it has woodland 
along a great part of its shore, but the 
prairie adjoins part of it. 

73. Okoboji Lake lies directly south 
of Spirit lake and is also in Dickinson 
county. It has somewhat the shape of a 
horse-shoe, with the open side to the north 
and the eastern prong coming up to with- 
in a few rods of Spirit lake. At this 
place the latter lake drains into Okoboji 
by a small outlet, and Okoboji, in turn, 
into Little Sioux river. If one should 
follow the outer shore of Okoboji lake 
from the point of one prong to that of the 
other, the distance traveled would be 
about fifteen miles. The beaches of this 
lake also are mostly sandy or gravelly, 
and the land around it is partly wooded 
and partly prairie. The region around 
both Spirit and Okoboji lakes is very 
pleasant and beautiful. Fish are plentiful 
in the water, and in spring and autumn 
wild water-fowl are abundant. 

74. Clear Lake lies upon the water- 
shed between Iowa and Cedar rivers, in 
the western part of Cerro Gordo county. 
Its greatest length is about four miles, 
which is eastward and westward. Its 
greatest width is about two miles. Its 
beach is gravelly and its shores mostly 
wooded. Its outlet, which is ocasionally 
dry, is into a branch of Shellrock river. 



75. Storm Lake is situated upon the 
great water-shed in Buena Vista county. 
Its surface contains not far from five 
square miles. Its beach is clean and 
gravelly. The surface of the surrounding 
country is gently rolling prairies. The 
trees, which the inhabitants have planted 
abundantly, will make the region much 
more beautiful, when they are grown. 

76. Walled Lakes.— There is a small 
lake in Wright county, and another in 
Sac county, which have become some- 
what generally known as "walled lakes." 
It has been supposed that the so-called 
walls upon their shores were the work of 
human hands, and that the Indians or 
some unknown ancient people made 
them. The truth is, they are not walls, 
and were not made by hands, but were 
made by the ice. If a kettle is filled with 
water and it allowed to freeze solid, the 
kettle is burst asunder by the expansion 
of ice in the act of freezing. Those ponds 
or lakes are shallow, especially at the be- 
ginning of winter. The water freezes to 
the bottom along the shore, and also some 
distance out from the shore, as the ice 
thickens. As the whole surface of the 
pond is frozen, the expansion of the ice is 
in all directions from the centre toward 
the shore. Of course, as the ice moves 
out, it carries with it whatever it is frozen 
to upon the bottom. One winter's freez- 
ing will move the material but very little, 
yet the freezing having been repeated 
every winter for centuries, it has been 
moved a considerable distance. In this 
way great quantities of sand, gravel, and 



22 



LAKES AND PEAT MARSHES. 



boulders whicli were upon the bottom, 
within reach of the ice, were moved out- 
ward and collected in ridges just where 
the expansion of the ice stopped. These 
are the so-called walls. They sometimes 
consist of boulders, sometimes of sand and 
gravel, and sometimes of turf — anything, 
indeed, that may have been upon the bot- 
tom of the lake. It is not only the two 
lakes mentioned that have such ridges on 
their shores, but similar ridges are to be 
found on some part, at least, of the shore 
of almost every lake and pond in northern 
Iowa. 

Section 2. Peat. 

77. How Peat is Formed.— Peat is 
sometimes called turf, and is much used 
for fuel in difterent parts of the world. 
When it is wet it appears much like dark 
brown mud, but when dry it somewhat 
resembles rotten wood. It is formed from 
the remains of the yearly growth of cer- 
tain kinds of plants, which become par- 
tially decomposed while kept constantly 
moist. As it is necessary that the dead 
plants should be kept constantly moist, 
only those kinds are changed to peat 
which grow in moist places. Peat is of- 
ten formed partly of grass, but it does 
not form upon the prairies because the 
surface, of even the most moist places, is 
dry for at least a part of the year, and 
the grass becomes wholly rotted, if not 
burned. All the peat of cool, temperate 
climates is largely made up of a kind of 
moss, besides other plants. In northern 
Iowa a kind of grass, called wire-grass, 



grows with the moss, and the two togeth- 
er form almost the whole of the peat 
there. 

78. Spring Marshes. — Peat may be 
formed in various positions, but in Iowa 
it has been produced either m ponds or 
springy places. Marshes of the latter 
kind are not common. They may occur 
in various positions, but they are some- 
times formed upon the gentle slope of a 
valley side. In such cases, the spring 
water, oozing out of the ground towards 
the upper part of the valley side, spreads 
over considerable space. This supplies 
the necessary condition of constant moist- 
ure, for the growth of the peat-forming 
plants. 

79. Pond Marshes. — When peat col- 
lects in ponds it usually begins at the 
edges, and, as the frost kills the vegeta- 
tion every autumn, the border of peat 
which is produced from it grows broader 
and broader, until it meets in the center, 
and fills the pond. When thus filled, the 
surface of the peat-marsh is as level as 
the surface of the water was when the 
marsh was a pond. All but a very few 
of the peat-marshes of Iowa are pond- 
marshes. Much the greater number and 
most important of them are upland ponds, 
which occupy positions similar to those 
of the upland lakes, mentioned in para- 
graph 71. The marshes may be from a 
few rods to a mile in length and breadth. 
A few pond marshes are found in river 
valleys, the ponds having had an origin 



LAKES AND PEAT MARSHES. 



23 



similar to that of the bottom lakes, men- 
tioned in paragraph 70. 

80. Appearance and Character of 
the Pond-Marshes. — Being perfectly 
level, the upland pond-marshes have the 
appearance of ponds of water resting in 
the depressions of the rolling surface, us- 
ually prairie. They still more resemble 
ponds when the wind blows over the 
thick growth of waving wire-grass that 
covers them. As one walks out upon the 
marsh, he finds a thick layer of moss at 
the roots of the grass. As he walks, he 
feels the marsh quivering beneath him, 
but there is little danger of breaking 
through into the soft peat, because grass- 
roots and moss make a strong, tough 
covering. The peat in these marshes 
varies from one to ten feet in depth. 

81. Parts of Iowa m which Peat 
is Found. — Very little if any peat suita- 
ble for fuel has been found upon the west- 
ern drainage slope. Very few marshes 
exist upon the eastern drainage slope 
south of the correction line which forms 
the northern limit of township 88. Those 
that do exist there .are nearly all bottom- 



pond marshes, but some of them are now 
much aoove the level of the adjacent 
stream. Very much the greater part of 
the peat to be found in Iowa lies in that 
part of the state which is east of the great 
watershed, and north of the correction 
line before mentioned. It is most plenti- 
ful in Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Worth, 
and Winnebago counties. 



82. How Peat is Prepared and 
Used for Fuel. — Peat may be used with 
very little preparation. The marsh must 
be drained by cutting a ditch. Then with 
a sharp spade, or a similar instrument, 
the peat is cut out in pieces of convenient 
size, and dried in the sun. It may be 
made more solid and convenient for use 
by grinding it while wet, into a soft pulp, 
and then moulding it while wet, as brick 
are moulded. While these moulded 
pieces are drying they become more sol- 
id, merely by shrinking, than they could 
be made by pressure, without grinding. 
The peat of some countries becomes quite 
solid when merely cut out and dried. 
That of Iowa is usually light, but the 
grinding causes it to become solid by 
drying. 



CHAPTER VI 



GEOLOGY. 



83. Definition. — Geology is the sci- 
ence which explains the structure and 
mineral composition of the earth, the 
causes of its physical features, and its his- 
tory. The ohject of this book is to treat 
only of Iowa, but before the geology of 
the state can be explained it is necessary 
to briefly explain the science. 

84. Structure of the Earth's Crust. 
— Rocks of some kind .exist everywhere 
beneath the soil and waters that cover the 
surface of the globe. They are most ex- 
posed to view in the sides of valleys, tops 
of hills and mountains, and along portions 
of the coasts of seas and great lakes. 
Whether hard, like limestone, sandstone, 
and granite, or soft, like clay and sand, 
geologists call them all rocks. They 
usually lie in beds or layers in our region, 
as we may see in any of the quarries, 
when they are called stratified rocks. Down 
deep beneath all these stratified rocks we 
have reason to believe there are cri/s- 
talline rocks, such as granite, etc., which 
are not stratified. Such crystalline rocks 
are also often found at the surface, es- 
pecially in mountainous and hilly districts. 

85. Stratified Rocks. — How crystal- 
line rocks have been formed is not always 
clearly understood, but stratified rocks 
have been formed in water. They re- 
ceived their stratified character by settling 
as sediment upon the bottom, layer upon 
layer, which afterward hardened into 
rock. These layers are also called strata. 



86. Fossils. — We shall find, upon ex- 
amination, that most of the stratified rocks 
contain shells, corals, and other remains 
of animals, solidly imbedded in them, or 
loose between the layers. They are usu- 
ally found to be much broken, but some- 
times they are quite perfect. These re- 
mains are called fossils. Since they are 
similar to those of animals that now live 
only in the sea, and whose remains are 
also found imbedded in the mud of the 
sea bottom, we infer that the rocks in 
which we find the fossils formerly con- 
sisted of sediment upon the bottom of 
the sea. It is only the hard parts of ani- 
mals, such as bones, shells, crusts, etc., 
that are preserved as fossils. All the soft 
parts soon rot and disappear when the 
animals die. 

It is not only in rocks that have been 
formed in the sea that fossils are found ; 
they are also found in the sediment which 
has been deposited in lakes and rivers, 
and occasionally, also, in peat-marshes. 
Sometimes portions of vegetation, as well 
as of animals, are found as fossils. These 
are often only leaves,' or rather only the 
impressions of leaves, resembling such as 
may be made by pressing a leaf between 
two pieces of soft clay, and then separat- 
ing them. 

87. Stratified Rocks elevated above 
the Sea. — When stratified rocks were 
first deposited they were necessarily in a 
level, or nearly level, position. But they 



GEOLOGY. 



25 



are frequently found hundreds of miles 
from the sea, and often much tilted or in- 
clined. Some are found in mountain 
ranges, folded and bent, thousands of feet 
above the level of the sea. They have, of 
course, been raised out of, and above the 
level of, the sea since they were formed. 
By this we know that what is often called 
"the solid ground" is really movable, and 
that a large part of it, if not the whole, 
has been more or less moved. We know, 
also, by these facts, that much the greater 
part of the earth's surface was once be- 
neath the sea. 

88, Earth-History taught by the 
Rocks and their Elevation. — All the 
continents were at first small, or their 
present place was occupied by a number 
of islands. They became such continents 
as we now find them by additions upon 
their borders as the land was raised. Bed 
after bed of rock material was deposited 
while the land was rising, and now we 
find those beds lapping upon each other 
with their edges pointing away from 
where was then the sea. The uppermost 
of these beds are, of course, the newest, 
or latest formed. These facts give us a 
kind of history, not only of the rocks 
themselves, but also of the growth of the 
continents in size. 

89. Earth-History taught by Fos- 
sils. — When we come to collect and to 
study the fossils of the rocks thus formed 
and elevated, we find that they are simi- 
lar to corresponding remains of animals 
now living, but yet they are all more or 



less different, and we find that the difier- 
ence increases as we go from the newer 
rocks, or those latest formed, to the older 
or earlier formed rocks. We learn by 
such study of the fossils and the rocks 
together that a gradual change has taken 
place in the Ufe-Ustory of the earth, as well 
as in its rock-history. In other words, we 
find that kind after kind of animals and 
plants have been created and destroyed, 
in progressive order, as age after age 
passed by. 

90. Branches of Geology. — This 
life-history and rock-history together, con- 
stitute HiMorical Geology. Liihological Ge- 
ology treats of rocks ; their kinds, struc- 
ture, condition, etc. Dynamical Geology 
treats of the forces which operated in the 
processes of rock-making, the elevation 
of continents, islands, and mountain ran- 
ges, and the production of volcanoes and 
earthquakes. In short, it treats of all the 
changes and disturbances that have taken 
place in the rocky crust of the earth. 
Physiographic Geology treats of the surface- 
features of the earth, and their causes. 

91. Geological Time; How it is 
Studied, — Writers of human history refer 
to such divisions of time as ages, eras, 
epochs, periods, etc. These terms are 
often used merely as means of convenient 
reference to certain series of past events, 
but, through them all, the years are num- 
bered in regular succession as they passed, 
even down to the present year. On the 
contrary, when we come to study the past 
history of the earth, we have no means of 



26 



GEOLGOY. 



ascertaining the number of years that have 
passed during any portion of it. We 
study this history by means of the evi- 
dence which we see of changes that have 
taken place upon the earth, both in the 
rock material of which its crust is com- 
posed, and in the forms of living things 
that have existed upon it. We know by 
such means, that geological time has been 
immensely long — longer, we believe, than 
could be easily computed in years, even if 
they had left in the forming rocks an un- 
broken record of their passing. 

92. Divisions of Geological Time. 

— Geologists use names for the divisions 
of geological time similar to those used 
by the historian. Thus we find Geolog- 
ical time divided into ages, ages into peri- 
ods, and periods into epochs, all, of course, 
without reference to the years that were 
passing all the while. These ages, com- 
mencing with the oldest rocks in which 
traces of former life have been discovered 
are called: 1. Lower Silurian. 2. Upper 
Silurian. 3. Devonian. 4. Carboniferous. 
5. Mesozoic. 6. Tertiary. 7. Age of Man. 
The rocks below the oldest of these are 
called Azoic. 

93. Distinguishing Characters of 
the Geological Ages. — During each of 
these ages certain kinds of living things 
were the leading, or principal kinds. Va- 
rious kinds of Mollusks (which include 
all shell-fish) were the leading kinds in the 
Lower and Upper Silurian ages ; Fishes, 
of the Devonian age ; abundant Vegeta- 
tion, of the Carboniferous age (this fur- 



nished the material for coal) ; Great Rep- 
tiles, of the Mesozoic age ; Mammals (the 
ordinary four-footed animals), of the Ter- 
tiary age; and Man, of the present age. 
Of course, very many other kinds of living 
things existed with these in each of the 
ages, just as all the kinds exist, with man 
as the leading creature, now. 

94. Other Names of the Geological 
Ages. — Because the kinds of living things 
mentioned in the last paragraph were the 
leading ones, the Lower and Upper Silu- 
rian ages together, are called the Age of 
Mollusks ; the Devonian, the Age of Fishes ; 
the Carboniferous, the Age of Coal Plants; 
the Mesozoic, the Age of Reptiles ; and 
the Tertiary, the Age of Mammals. 

95. Divisions of Strata. — Rocky 
strata have been accumulating ever since 
the beginning. Those which accumulated 
in an epoch are called a formation. A 
thick stratum, or a collection of strata, 
less than a formation, is often called a 
bed. Those formations that were pro- 
duced during a period are called a group. 
Those groups of formations that were 
made in an age are called a 5?/s^em. Thus, 
for example, the formations and groups of 
the first, or oldest, age, constitute the 
Lower Silurian System, and those of the 
third, or Devonian, age, constitute the 
Devonian System, etc. 

96. The Glacial Epoch.— Geolo- 
gists find evidence that at the close of the 
Tertiary age the climate of those parts of 
the earth that were before, and are now, 
temperate, became extremely cold. The 



GEOLOGY. 



27 



evidence leaves little or no doubt that the 
land of both the northern and southern 
hemispheres, as far as the 39th or 40th 
parallel of latitude, was covered with ice 
all the year round, just as a large part of 
Greenland now is. The ice accumulated 
from falling snow, just as it now ai3cumu- 
lates upon the glaciers of Greenland and 
the Alps, until it reached, in some places 
at least, many hundred feet thick. In 
fact, this great ice-sheet was merely a 
wide-spread glacier, covering the country 
and moving southward constantly, but very 
slowly. In the interior states we find evi- 
dence that the ice reached far south of the 
Ohio river before it came to a climate 
warm enough to melt it as fast as it moved 
southward. We also find evidence that 
the Allegheny and Rocky mountains had 
glaciers upon them just as the Alps have 
now. 

After a long epoch the former mildness 
of the climate returned and the ice grad- 
ually disappeared by melting, until its 
most southern borders are now found 
within the Arctic Circle. 

97. The Drift.— The motion of the 
great, heavy ice-sheet over the formations 
upon which it rested, ground a part of 
them up very fine and mixed the soft 



material with the sand, gravel, and bould- 
ers. This finely pulverized rock consti- 
tutes most of the soil, and also the greater 
part of the deposit called the drift. The 
drift consists of all the loose, earthy ma- 
terial above the stratified rocks in the re- 
gion the glaciers once occupied. A great 
part of the drift is clay, but clay ia nothing 
more than partly decomposed and pulver- 
ized rock. Scattered throughout the drift 
are granite and other boulders, which the 
ice brought from the northward. Some 
of these we now find upon the surface, 
but the greater part of them are covered 
from sight. 

98. Origin of Rock Material. — It 

might be supposed that the earth has be- 
come larger by the accumulation of strata 
upon each other. That is not the case. 
The earth has not increased a pound in 
weight since the first stratified rocks were 
formed, except by the meteors that have 
fallen upon it. All the material of which 
the stratified rocks are composed has been 
derived from rocks that existed before. 
A great part even of the stratified rocks 
themselves have become decomposed, the 
material having been removed and depos- 
ited in water, again to become other strat- 
ified rocks. 



CHAPTER VII. 



IOWA GEOLOGY. 



99. Rocks of Iowa Mostly Covered 
from Sight. — There can be no doubt that 
the whole state is underlaid by stratified 
rocks belonging to various formations. 
They are, however, largely covered from 
sight by the drift and other loose deposits, 
so that they are seldom seen except in the 
valley sides and in the banks of streams. 
They are most abundantly exposed to view 
in the eastern part of the state, especially 
in those counties of the northeastern part 
which adjoin the Mississippi, In many 
whole counties of Iowa, especially the 
northwestern ones, no rocks at all are to 
be seen except a few boulders and pebbles. 

100. The Formations of Iowa. — By 
studying the rocks wherever it is possible 
to see them, we learn what different forma- 
tions underlie the surface of the state, and 
also to what geological ages they belong. 
The following table gives the names of 
those formations in their order, beginning 
at the bottom with the oldest formation. 
It also shows the group and system to 
which each formation belongs. 

101. Position of the Formations 
in relation to each other. — It is true, 
these formations lie, the one upon the 
other, but each does not entirely cover 
the next lower. They lap upon each other, 
the edges of most of them being directed 
to the northeastward. Each one of them 
occupies a greater or less space of country 
before it is covered from sight by the lap- 



Table of the Geological Formations of Iowa. 



Systkms. 
{Ages.) 


Groups. 
(Periods.) 


Formations. 
(Epochs.) 




Post-Tertiary. 


Drift. 
Chalky Beds. 


Cretaceous. 


EariierCretaceous 


Woodbury Sandstone and 
Shales. 

Nishnabotany Sandstone. 

Upper Coalmeasures. 




Coal Measures. ■ 


Middle Coalmeasures. 
Lower Coalmeasures. 


Carboniferous. 




St. Louis Limestone. 




Sub- 
Carboniferous. 


Keokuk Limestone. 
Burlington Limestone. 
Kinderhook Beds. 


Devonian. 


Hamilton. 


Hamilton Limestone and 
1 Shales. 


Upper Silurian 


Niagara. 


Niagara Limestone. 




Cincinnati. 


Maquokcta Shales 




Trenton. I 


Galena Limestone. 
Trenton Limestone. 


LowerSilurian. 




St. Peter's Sandstone. 




Primordial. 


Lower Maguesian Lime- 
stone. 

Potsdam Sandstone. 


Azoic. 


Huronian. 


Sioux Quartzite. 



ping on of the next. Although the forma- 
tions do lap upon, and dip beneath, each 
other, as mentioned, they are all so nearly 
level that the eye cannot detect any but 
the local or short dips. 

102. Explanation of the Geological 
Map. — The accompanying geological map 
shows, by different colors, in what parts 
of the state the rocks, belonging to the 



IOWA GEOLOGY. 



29 



different ages, are to be found naturally 
exposed, or near the surface. The map is 
too small to be colored so as to show every 
formation well; so the ages only, in most 
cases, are shown. The part of the map 
colored yellow and numbered 7 represents 
the part of the state where the rocks of the 
Lower Silurian age are found. They are 
to be seen only in that part, but they are 
believed to extend beneath all the other 
formations of the state except the Sioux 
Quartzite (No. 8). Next is the Upper Si- 
lurian, colored red (No. 6). The edge of 
it next to the yellow, shows where the 
formation thins out on the Lower Silurian 
and the other edge shows where it dips 
beneath the Devonian (No. 5), which is 
colored blue. The Devonian thins out 
upon the Upper Silurian and dips beneath 
the Sub-Carboniferous (No. 4), which is 
colored brown. The dark color (No. 3) 
represents the coalfield, or that part of the 
state which is occupied by the Upper and 
Lower Coalmeasur es together. These two 
formations contain all, or nearly all, the 
coal of the state. The coal-bearing strata 
thin out upon the Sub-Carboniferous and 
dip beneath the Upper Coalmeasure forma- 
tion (No. 2), which is represented by a 
neutral tint. The green spots (No. 1) show 
where rocks of Cretaceous age have been 
found. In all that large part of the state 
represented by the uncolored portion- of 
the map the drift has so covered the strata 
that no rock, except boulders, have been 
found. 

103. The Sioux Quartzite is a very 
hard, brick-red rock. Within the state, 



it is found in ledges only in the extreme 
northwest corner, but it may be found 
abundantly in the adjacent parts of Dakota 
and Minnesota. It is probably of Azoic 
age, but that fact is not known with cer- 
tainty. In the southwestern part of Min- 
nesota a layer of red pipestone is found in 
the Sioux Quartzite. This is the place 
which is celebrated in Longfellow's " Song 
of Hiawatha" as the one where the Great 
Spirit taught the Indians to make pipes 
from the stone. 

104. The Potsdam Sandstone is usu- 
ally of a dirty yellowish color, and too soft 
for building purposes. It may be seen in 
the base of the bluffs at the cities of Mc- 
Gregor and Lansing, and also in a similar 
position in the bluffs of the Mississippi 
between those cities. It may also be seen 
in the base of the bluffs of the Upper Iowa 
for a few miles from its mouth. 

105. The Lower Magnesian Lime- 
stone is a light-brown, rough looking 
rock. The greater part of it is too rough 
for^ building purposes, but in some parts 
it is very good. It may be seen resting 
upon the Potsdam Sandstone at McGregor, 
Lansing and at other places between those 
cities, along the bluffs of the Mississippi; 
also, in the bluffs of the Yellow and Upper- 
Iowa rivers for a distance of several miles 
from their mouths. 

106. The St. Peter's Sandstone is 
also a soft sandstone, usually of a light- 
gray color, but sometimes variegated. At 
a place a couple of miles below McGregor 



30 



IOWA GEOLOGY. 



it is variously colored by oxide of iron, 
and is known by the name of "Pictured 
Rocks." The formation may be seen near 
the top of the bluffs at McGregor and other 
places, resting upon the Lower Magnesian 
Limestone. 

107. The Trenton Limestone.— This 
formation is in some places a blueish lime- 
stone, good for building purposes and for 
lime, but in others it is shaly and of no 
value. It may be seen at the following, 
beside other, places : Gutienburg, Mc- 
Gregor, Waukon, and Decorah ; also, in 
the valley sides of the Upper Iowa river, 
from Decorah up to the state boundary, 
and in the valley of Turkey river, from 
the mouih of the Volga to Fort Atkinson. 
Many fossils are found at various places 
in this formation. 

108. The Galena Limestone is mag- 
nesian, and in appearance, much like the 
Lower Magnesian Limestone. It was so 
named from the galena (lead ore) which is 
found in it. It may be seen at the follow- 
ing, beside other, places : Dubuque, Gar- 
navillo, near Elkader, Clermont, and also 
along nearly the whole valley of Turkey 
river, where it may be seen resting upon 
the Trenton limestone. A few fossils are 
occasionally found in it, but they are not 
common. 

109. The Maquoketa Shales are so 
called from the Little Maquoketa river, in 
the valley of which the formation is freely 
exposed. It is in some parts quite clayey, 
and in others shaly, with an occasional 
layer of impure magnesian limestone. 



This formation occupies a very narrow 
strip of the country, running parallel with, 
and two or three miles from, turkey river, 
on its south side. It continues thence 
southward, parallel with the Mississippi, 
through Dubuque, and extends as far as 
Bellevue, in Jackson county. Many fossils 
are to be found in it at some places, espe- 
cially in the valley of the Little Maquoketa, 
about twelve miles west of Dubuque. 

The formations described in the last six 
paragraphs belong to the Lower Silurian 
age, as may be seen by the table in para- 
graph 100. They are also all included in 
the space represented by the yellow color 
upon the map. 

110. The Niagara Limestone is so 
called because it is the western continua- 
tion of the formation over which the waters 
leap at Niagara Falls. It is the only forma- 
tion of Upper Silurian age in Iowa, and 
occupies all that part of the State repre- 
sented by the red space upon the map. 
It consists of magnesian limestone, and 
often has much flinty material mixed with 
it. It often resembles the Galena, and also 
Lower Magnesian Limestone formation, 
but at some places, as at Anamosa and 
LeClaire, it is evenly bedded. It may be 
seen in the bluffs of the Mississippi be- 
tween LeClaire and Bellevue, and also in 
the bluffs and valley sides of the other riv- 
ers which traverse the part of the state 
which the formation occupies. There 
have been many fossils in this formation, 
but in most cases only the cavities they 
once filled now remain. 



IOWA GEOLOGY. 



31 



111. The Hamilton Limestone and 
Shales constitute the only formation of 
Devonian age in Iowa. It occupies that 
large space represented by the blue color 
upon the map. It consists of clayey shales, 
shaly limestone, and of limestone in more 
or less regular layers, a few of which, in 
some places, are magnesian. The old 
State Capitol (now "Middle Hall" of the 
State University,) is built of stone from 
this formation. The small pieces of stone 
often worked into paper-weights and other 
ornamental objects and called "Iowa City 
Marble," or "Bird's-Eye Marble," are 
really fossil corals, obtained from this 
formation. These were of course formed 
by polyps, as corals now are, but they 
have since become solid rock. The forma- 
tion affords many fossils at some places, 
the most noted of which is near Rockford, 
in Floyd county. The rocks of this forma- 
tion are to be seen frequently exposed in 
the valleys of all the streams of the region 
represented by the blue space on the map. 

112. The Sub-Oarboniferous Group. 
— There are four formations of this group 
in Iowa, as is shown by the table in para- 
graph 100. The space they occupy is 
represented by the brown color upon the 
map, and they are described in the four 
following paragraphs : — 

113. The Kinderhook Beds consist 
of various kinds of rock constituting differ- 
ent beds, and which also vary at different 
places. At Burlington they consist princi- 
pally of fine grained sandstone, sometimes 
quite clayey. One bed there is oolitic 



limestone. At Orford, Tama county, the 
formation is mostly oolitic limestone. At 
LeGrand, Marshall county, it is drab- 
colored, or variegated limestone, some of 
it magnesian. At Iowa Falls it is gray 
limestone below, and rough, magnesian 
limestone above. At Springvale, in Hum- 
boldt county, the rock is oolitic limestone 
below, and magnesian limestone above. 
Here the latter is good building rock. 

114. The Burlington Limestone is 
so called from the city of Burlington 
where the formation may be seen in the 
bluffs of the Mississippi. It may also be 
seen in the bluffs, from near the mouth of 
Iowa river to the mouth of Skunk river. 
It may be found also at many other places 
in Des Moinea, Louisa, and Washington 
counties. This formination has become 
noted, both in our own and foreign coun- 
tries, for the many kinds and great num- 
bers of the fossils called crinoids that have 
been found in it, especially at Burling- 
ton. 

115. The Keokuk Limestone takes 
its name from the city of Keokuk, where 
many quarries are worked in it. It may 
be seen in all the bluffs between Mont- 
rose and Keokuk, and also at Bentonsport, 
on the Des Moines river, and other places. 
It is in the upper part of this formation 
that those hollow masses of rock, lined 
with crystals, called geodes, are found. 
Many interesting fossils have been found 
in the Keokuk limestone, at various 
places. 



32 



IOWA GEOLOGY. 



116. The St. Louis Limestone takes 
its name from the city of St. Louis, Miss- 
ouri, but the same formation is found in 
Iowa and the adjoining states also. It 
may be seen more or less fully exposed 
at the following places, besides many 
others. Fort Dodge, near Webster City, 
near Pella, at Ottumwa, Farmington, and 
near Keokuk. This formation consists 
principally of compact gray limestone, 
but layers of magnesian limestone also are 
often found in it, and sometimes a bed of 
soft sandstone in addition. Fossils are 
often found in the clayey spaces between 
the layers of limestone. One of the best 
known localities for them is near Pella, 
Marion county. 

117. The Coalmeasures. — The name 
" coalmeasures " is an old term, first used 
by English miners. It is now used only 
as a common name for the group of form- 
ations that contain the coal. This group 
comes next above the Sub-carboniferous 
group. In Iowa the group is divided in- 
to three formations, called the Lower, 
Middle, and Upper Coalmeasures. 

118. The Lower and Middle Coal- 
measures occupy that part of Iowa 
which is represented by the dark color 
upon the map. This region is called the 
Iowa coal-field. The two formations are 
not very distinct from each other. They 
both contain beds of coal, the thickest 
being in the Lower. They are made up of 
beds of sandstone, shales, and clay, with 
rarely a thin bed of impure limestone. 
The beds of coal lie between these beds 



of rock, just as if they were also beds of 
rock, which indeed, geologically speak- 
ing, they are. A bed of coal may be 
only a few inches thick, but some of 
them are six or eight feet thick. There 
is usually a bed of shale resting upon, 
and a bed of clay immediately under each 
coal bed. This clay is often used for 
making common pottery. The other 
rocks of these formations are not often 
valuable, but some of the sandstone is 
suitable for building purposes, though 
generally too soft. The sandstone has 
usually a dirty yellow color, but at Red 
Rock, in Marion county, and at some 
other place's it is colored red by oxide of 
iron. BluiFs of this sandstone may be 
seen near Eldora and Steamboat Rock, 
in Hardin county; at Red Rock and 
other places in Marion county, in the val- 
ley-side of the Des Moines, a little below 
Ottumwa, and elsewhere. Besides the 
formations of the coalfield, coalmeasure 
strata, and in a few cases, some coal 
with them, have been found at various 
places, more or less distant from its bor- 
ders. These are small, separate deposits 
and are called outliers. One of them, 
much larger than any of the others, con- 
tains several coal mines. It is near the 
Mississippi, extending from Muscatine 
nearly to Davenport. Fossil plants are 
often found in the shales of the coal 
measures, and occasionally other fossils, 
also, such as shells, &c. 

119. The Upper Coalmeasures oc- 
cupy that part of the state represented by 



IOWA GEOLOGY. 



33 



the neutral tint upon the map. M'uch of 
this formation is liniL'stone, but it also 
contains sandstones, shales, and some clay. 
Geologists, for certain reasons, give this 
formation the name it bears, but it really 
contains very little coal, in most places, 
none. In the valley of the Nodaway 
river, in Adams, Taylor, and Page coun- 
ties, a little coal is found in this forma- 
tion. Its rocks arc to be seen abundantly 
in the valleys of Middle, North and South 
rivers in Madison county; in the valley 
of Grand river in Decatur county, and at 
many other places in the region repre- 
sented by the neutral tint upon the map. 
The formation contains many fossils, 
some of which may be found at almost 
any of the places where the limestone 
a])pear3. 

120. Cretaceoiis Rocks. — A large 
part of western and northwestern Iowa 
was doubtless at one time occupied by 
rocks of Cretaceous age. If so, they have 
been either mostl}^ removed by, glacial 
action, or covered up by drift, for they 
are now to be seen at only a few places. 
Rocks of this age hnve been found in 
Montgomery, Cass, Pottawattamie, Guth- 
rie, Greene, Woodbury, Plymouth, and 
Sioux counties. The places where these 
rocks have been found are represented 
by the green color upon the map, 

121. The Nishnabotany Sandstone 
only, of the Cretaceous formations, has 
been found in Montgomery, Cass, Potta- 
wattamie, Guthrie, and Greene counties. 
In some places it has been seen resting 



upon the Upper coalmeasure limestone. 
It is a coarse, usually soft sandstone, and 
sometimes pebbly. It varies in color 
from dirty yellow to dark brown. At 
Lewis, in Cass county, the dark brown 
stone has been used for building pur- 
poses. 

122. The Woodbury Sandstone 
and Shales are to be seen in the bank 
of the Missouri, at Sioux Cit}-, and also 
at various points in the bluffs of the Big 
Sioux, within seven miles of Sioux City. 

123. The Chalky Beds are called 
by geologists the Inoceramus beds. They 
are found in the valley-side of the Big 
Sioux, resting upon the "Woodbury sand- 
stone and shales. They are made up of 
light gray, chalky material, and soft, 
shaly limestone. In some places they 
also contain a little true chalk, which 
however is usually too impure for use. 

124. The Drift.— The general char- 
acter of drift has been described in para- 
graph 97. The upper part of it in Iowa 
being soil and sub-soil, we see it almost 
everywhere. It is that which we com- 
monly call "the ground" and into which 
we dig to make cellars, wells, &c. (The 
ground of those counties which border 
the Missouri river is different from that 
of the drift. It is described in paragraph 
128. The ground of the bottom lands is 
also not drift. See paragraph 131.) 

At the close of the Glacial epoch, the 
drift doubtless covered up all the strati- 
fied rocks in Iowa, and the rivers have 



54 



IOWA GEOLOGY. 



since made their own valleys. lu doing 
so they have washed out and carried ofi' 
the drift down to the stratified rocks in 
some places. We also find that in some 
phxces the valleys have been worn still 
deeper and we see the ed;j:es of the strata 
]irojecting from the varicy-sides. In some 
|,-rt.;j of the state the drift is not far from 
two hundred tcet deep. Everywhere, 
away from the valley^;, it is usually so 
thick that the wells dug in it do not reach 
tlie Lottom of it. There is usually much 
cUiy mixed with the other niatorial of the 
drift, so that it is sometimes very hard 
and dithcult to dig, but it is never 
chanired into rock. 



125. The Boulders. — Boulders of 
granite, or more properly, of syenite, are 
lo be found, at least in small numbers, in 
ahnost all parts of the state. These have 
been brought by the ice from Minnesota 
where ledges of that kind of rock abound. 
West of the Des Moines river boulders of 
Sioux quartzite are to be found in addi- 
tion to the others. These came from 
southwestern Minnesota, where ledges of 
that quartzite are plentiful. A few 
boulders of other kinds of rock are occa- 
sioiiaUy found with these, but not many- 
111 some parts of the state very few bould- 
ers of any kind are to be found in the 
drift. No where in Iowa are they so 
plentiful as they are iu some other regions. 
Oc<;ii>i(in;dly the granite boulders are 
very large. Some of them when broken 
up have furnished large quantities of the 
most durable buildino; stone. 



126. Drift Scratches. — Boulders are 
sometimes found, having one side flat- 
tened and scored in straight lines. Some- 
times also, the top layer of rock in quar- 
ries is found with its upper surface 
leveled oflp and scored in a similar man- 
ner. The boulders were frozen fast in 
the bottom of the great ice-sheet, and as 
this moved over the ledges the boulders 
and ledges leveled and scored each other. 

127. Objects found in the Drift.— 

Sometimes pieces of lead-ore and copper 
have been found in the drift of Iowa, 
causing many to believe that mines of 
those valuable metals might be opened 
where the specimens were found. Such 
specimens were doubtless brought from 
places hundreds of miles distant, by the 
ice, and in the same manner that it 
brought the boulders. Sometimes logs 
and branches of trees are found in the 
drift when wells or cellars are dug. Be- 
fore the Glacial epoch, trees grew as they 
are growdng now, and when the ice came, 
parts of some of them were buried in the 
drift. Deeply covered from the atmos- 
phere they could not decay, and they 
have remained comparatively sound to 
this day. 

128. The Bluff Deposit. — The 
"ground" of a part of western Iowa con- 
sists of a deposit different from the drift. 
It is called the Bluff deposit, because it 
forms the bulk of the blufts of the Miss- 
ouri river. It has the appearance of fine 
earth, without gravel or stones, except a 
few stony lumps, and is all alike, from 



IOWA GEOLOGY, 



35 



top to bottom, even when it is two 
hundred feet thick. This deposit occu- 
pies the surface of all the counties of Iowa 
which border upon the Missouri, and it 
also extends as far east as the western 
portions of Page, Montgomery, and Shel- 
by counties. The Bluff deposit rests up- 
on the drift, as may be seen at the base of 
some of the Missouri bluffs, and in the 
valleys of some of the smaller rivers. 
The drift is thinner there, however, than 
it is in most other parts of the state. It 
is not only in Iowa that this deposit is 
found, but it extends far into Nebraska, 
Missouri, and Kansas. 

129. Peculiarities. — The Bluff de- 
posit has some striking peculiarities. It 
may be easily dug with a spade, and yet 
the sides of cellars, wells, and other ex- 
cavations made in it will stand without 
crumbling or change for several years, 
even when exposed to frost and rains. 

130. Origin of the Bluff Deposit.— 

Geologists believe it was deposited as sedi- 



ment in a lake-like expansion of the Mis- 
souri river immediately after the close of 
the Glacial epoch. The lake became filled 
with the abundant sediment of that mud- 
dy river before that portion of its channel 
below had cut its valley out to any con- 
siderable depth. Afterward, as the valley 
below was deepened by the wearing of the 
current, it also easily swept out a valley 
in the sediment which its own waters had 
deposited before. When this was done 
the high bluffs of dried mud remained 
on each side of the valley, as we see them 
now. 

131. Alluvium.— The "groimd" of 
the river bottoms is called alluvium, but 
by some authors it is called "River drift." 
It is composed of whatever materials the 
river floods may have disturbed in their 
course and deposited again. It is largely 
re-arranged glacial drift in most of the 
valleys of Iowa, but in the region occu- 
pied by the Bluff deposit that material 
forms the greater part of the alluvium. 





CHAPTER VIII. 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 



132. The Iowa Coal Field contains 
at least seven thousand square miles, and 
the coal it contains is practically inex- 
haustable. Coal, than, constitutes one of 
the most important products of the state. 
It is shown in paragraph 102, that the 
coal-bearing formations of Iowa dip be- 
neath the upper, or unproductive coal- 
measures. Therefore there is good rea- 
son to believe that the present known 
coal-field may be greatly enlarged by 
finding coal deep beneath the Upper coal- 
measures in southwestern Iowa. 

133. How Coal is Found. — Coal 
may not be invariably found at any place 
within the coal field. Several different 
beds are known to exist there, and some- 
times a bed is known to extend continu- 
ously for a long distance. But if one 
should dig down at any chosen place he 



might pass through one or more beds of 
coal, or he might find none at all. Coal is 
found in beds with layers of rock lying 
parallel above and below them. Coal beds 
are often, but improperly, called veins. In 
Iowa the coal beds, as well as the strati- 
fied rocks among which they are found, 
are nearly level. They are usually first 
discovered in the valley-sides of rivers or 
creeks. The wearing out of the valleys 
has often left the edges of the coal beds, 
as well as of the other strata, near the 
sloping surface, or sometimes even fully 
exposed. 

134. Coal Mines. — At present, coal 
in Iowa is mostly mined by "drifting." 
That is, by digging a horizontal way, 
called an entry^ into the coal bed from the 
valley side. Then passages are dug out 
into the coal bed from each side of the 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 



37 



entry, and rooms are dug on each side of 
the passages. When a bed of coal is 
known to exist at a certain place beneath 
the surface, a shaft is dug down to it and 
then the entries, passages, and rooms are 
dug as before. All the coal finds its way 
out by the main entry, either to the 
mouth of the mine in the valley side, or 
to the shaft, where it is raised to the 
surface by a windlass. Shale usually 




forms the roof, and clay the floor of a 
mine. Pillars of coal are left at frequent 
intervals to keep the roof from falling. 
Strong posts of wood, called props, are 
also much used for the same purpose. 

The mines of Fort Dodge, Moingona, 
Des Moines, and Oskaloosa are among 
the most noted, but many others are 
worked in various parts of the coal field. 

135. How the Miners Work. — 

Most of the coal mines are too low for a 
man to stand upright in them, so the 
miners must stoop, or lie partly on their 
side. Small wooden railways are laid 
along the center of all the entries and 



passages, and also into the rooms where 
the miners work. On these rails small 
cars are made to run. In the smaller 
mines the cars are pushed by the miners, 
but in some of the larger they are drawn 
by small mules. Each miner is provided 
with a small tin lamp, a pick-a^e, a large 
hammer, and some iron wedges. The 
lamp is fixed in the front of his cap by a 
wire hook. Lying partly on his side up- 
on the bottom of the mine he digs out 
=. with his pick-axe a narrow groove 
=-^ from the bottom of the coal bed, as 
far under as he can reach. Then, 
driving the iron wedges in at the top, 
between the coal and the roof, he 
throws the coal down upon the bot- 
tom of the mine. It is then put into 
the cars and run out. Sometimes 
the coal is thrown down by a blast 
of powder instead of the wedges and 
hammer. 

136. The Coal of Iowa is bitumen- 
ous. A little cannel coal is sometimes 
found, but it is usually too impure to be 
of any practical value. No anthracite 
coal is found in the state. 

137. Metals. — Except lead, no metals 
of value have been found in the state. 
At some places considerable quantities of 
good iron-ore have been found, but the 
amount was too small and the supply too 
uncertain to make it valuable. 

138. Lead. — Lead ore has for many 
years been mined in large quantities at 
Dubuque and in the region immediately 



38 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 



around the city. The ore is found in 
deep, narrow crevices and caves in the 
Galena limestone formation. The crev- 
ices are often to narrow to allow a man to 
pass in them, until they are widened, but 




sometimes they are several feet wide, and 
vary much in height. They may be often 
followed for long distances under ground. 
Most of them run east and west, but a 
part of them, north and south. The ore 
is smelted in furnaces made for the pur- 
pose, wood being principally used for 
fuel. The melted lead runs from the fur- 
nace into a cauldron, from which it is 
dipped out and cast, in moulds, into short 
bars, called pigs, which weigh about sev- 
enty pounds apiece. Several years ago 
small quantities of lead ore were found in 
the Lower Magnesian limestone, in the 
valley of the Upper Iowa, but the quanti- 
ty was too small to be valuable. 

139. Gypsum. — At Fort Dodge and 
in its vicinity gypsum is found in very 
great quantities. In other places gypsum 
occurs in irregular heaps or deposits, but 



at Fort Dodge it is found in the condition 
of stratified rock, and quarries in it look 
like ordinary limestone quarries. Gyp- 
sum is 80 soft that it may be cut with a 
knife, or easily broken and ground to 
powder. It is therefore easily quarried 
and worked into desired shapes. 
Several fine dwelling houses have 
been built of it in Fort Dodge, the 
gypsum being used for the walls, 
just as common stone is used. Such 
walls have a pleasant gray color. 



140. "Plaster." — Where gypsum 
is merely ground to a fine powder, 
without any other preparation, it is 
called "plaster." In that condition 

it is used by farmers for fertilizing grass 

and corn lands, &c. 

141. Plaster of Paris.— This is the 
ground gypsum or "plaster" heated over 
a fire until the water of crystalization is 
expelled. When plaster of paris is mix- 
ed with water it quickly becomes hard or 
" sets." It is used in the arts for various 
purposes, such as the making of stucco 
cornices in rooms, ornaments, &c. The 
brass tops of our glass lamps are fastened 
on with it. 

142. Stone, suitable for buildings, 
bridge piers, &c., is to be found principal- 
ly in the bluffs and valley sides, but in a 
few places some large granite boulders 
have furnished good building stone. The 
various kinds of rock are mentioned in 
paragraphs 103 to 122. The eastern half 



THE SOIL. 



39 



of the state is very well supplied with 
stone. In the southwestern quarter, ex- 
cept in Decatur county, stone is not plen- 
tiful. A large part of the northwestern 
quarter of the state is destitute of stone, 
especially the broad space between the 
Des Moines and the Big Sioux rivers. 

143. Lime. — Almost any of the com- 
mon limestone, and much of the magne- 
sian limestone also, which is mentioned in 
Chapter VII. may be burned into lime. 
The chalky beds of Plymouth county are 
also much used there for making lime. 
The state is therefore well supplied with 
this useful article, some of which is very 
superior. 

144. Brick Clay. — A large part of 
the brick used in Iowa are made of the 



clayey soil and sub-soil, especially that of 
the region occupied by the drift. They 
are also often made from the clay of the 
deeper parts of the drift. Brick material 
is therefore abundant in almost all parts 
of the state. 

145. Potters' Clay is found at many 
places in the state, especially within the 
coal field, where the under-clay of the coal 
beds has furnished it. It is suitable only 
for coarse vessels, such as jars, jugs, 
crocks, &c., of which large quantities are 
made at difierent places. 

146. Sand, suitable for morter and 
all other ordinary purposes, is to be found 
at low water in all the river beds of the 
state. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE SOIL. 



147. General Characters. — Iowa is 
justly famous for the fertility of its soil. 
In some countries most of the tillable soil 
is found in the valleys, the hills being 
generally rocky and barren. But the 
whole surface of Iowa in tillable except 
the small portion of it which is occupied 
by rivers, lakes, ponds, rocky bluffs, &c. 
The surface of the soil is generally so 
nearly level that farm work is not difficult 
and farm machinery may be easily used. 



There are three distinct kinds of soil in 
the state, namely, the Drift, Bluff, and 
Alluvial soils. 

148. The Drift SoU is formed of the 
surface portion of the drift deposit des- 
cribed in paragraph 124. It is therefore 
the soil of the greater part of the state. 
It consists of a dark loam, from one to 
two feet deep, and sometimes more, on 
the prairies. It is so fertile that some 



40 



THE SOIL. 



farms upon it have been cultivated suc- 
cessfully for more than twenty years 
without artificial fertilization of any 
kind. Stones are seldom seen in it, 
especially upon the prairies, and as there 
are of course no stumps, there is nothing 
to impede the plow. 

149. The Bluff Soil is the surface 
portion of the Bluff deposit described in 
paragraph 128, and is consequently found 
wherever that deposit exists. It is fully 
as fertile as the drift soil, and as it con- 
tains only a very small amount of clay in 
its composition it does not become so 
muddy when wet. This is a great ad- 
vantage because it may be plowed earlier 
in the spring than clayey soils, and also 
sooner after a rain. As there are no 
stones, not even boulders, in this soil. 



there is nothing to impede the working 
of farm implements and machinery. 

150. The Alluvial Soil.— This is the 

soil of the bottom lands. The material 
of which it is composed has been dis- 
turbed or transported by the rivers. If 
they flow over the drift, that deposit 
furnishes material for alluvial soil. In 
most of the valleys of western and south- 
western Iowa the bluff deposit has con- 
tributed largely to the formation of 
alluvial soil. The alluvial soil of the 
Mississippi bottom is largely altered drift, 
while that of the Missouri is largely bluff 
deposit. Since so much decomposed ani- 
mal and vegetable matter has been 
brought down by the rivers and mixed 
with the alluvial soils, they are among 
the most fertile and durable in the world. 





CHAPTER X. 



PRODUCTIONS OF THE SOIL. 



Section 1. Native Productions. 

151. Distribution of Native Plants. 
— It has been shown that the surface of 
the state is very uniform. The character 
of the soil has a great degree of uniformity 
as regards its fitness for the growth of 
vegetation. Therefore there is great uni- 
formity of native vegetation throughout 



the state, although some plants seem to 
flourish a little better in some places than 
in others. If the seeds of any of them 
are planted in any other part of the state 
they usually grow well. There are some 
exceptions, as for example the paw-paw 
and persimmon. They are not known to 
ripen their fruit north of Burlington. 



42 



PRODUCTIONS OF THE SOIL. 



152. Forest Trees. — The most com- 
mon kinds of forest trees are four or five 
kinds of oak, common elm, cotton wood, 
black walnut, hickory, sugar maple, soft 
maple, and linden. Among those less 
abundant are buckeye, aspen, water 
birch, wild cherry, ash, box elder, white 
walnut, or butternut, sycamore, and slip- 
pery elm. Such trees as the soft maple, 
cotton wood, black walnut, and buckeye 
grow naturally upon the bottom lands, 
but they will also grow thriftily upon all 
varieties of soil in the state if either 
transplanted or grown from the seed. 
A few pine trees are found growing in 
the eastern part of Iowa, upon such bluffs 
as have sandstone or flinty material in 
their composition. Red cedar is also 
found growing in many of the rocky 
bluffs bordering the rivers. The chest- 
nut, beech, and poplar or tulip tree, all 
so common in the middle and eastern 
states, do not grow naturally in Iowa. 

153. Native Fruits. — Wild grapes, 
plums, crab apples, cherries, blackber- 
ries, raspberries, gooseberries, and straw- 
berries grow in the woodlands and thick- 
ets of all parts of the state. It is true 
they are of little value compared with 
cultivated kinds, but they serve to indi- 
cate that some cultivated kinds may be 
successfully grown where these grow 
naturally. 

154. Nuts. — Hickory and hazel nuts 
are plentiful in the woodland regions. 
Black walnuts and butternuts are com- 
mon upon the bottom lands of eastern 



Iowa, and a few pecan nuts are found 
upon the bottom lands of Lee and Des 
Moines counties. Oaks being among the 
most common of the forest trees, acorns 
are plentiful and are sometimes used by 
the farmers to assist in fattening hogs. 

155. Wild Hay. — The prairie grass 
is used for hay by the farmers who live 
near uncultivated prairies. This wild hay 
may be obtained so cheaply that cultiva- 
ted grasses, although much better, are 
not generally grown until all the prairie 
land in the neighborhood is occupied. 
Wild hay has been of very great value to 
Iowa, and many thousands of cattle are 
now pastured upon the prairie grass every 
season. 

156. Wild Rice. — A kind of coarse 
grass called wild rice grows in the shal- 
low ponds of northern Iowa. It was 
formerly used as food by the Indians. 
The seeds are slender, nutritious grains, 
but far inferior to common rice, and it is 
of no practical value compared with cul- 
tivated grains. 

Section 2. Cultivated Productions. 

157. Uniformity of Crops, in dif- 
ferent parts of the State. — Since there 
is so great uniformity of distribution of 
the native plants of the state, one would 
naturally expect the cultivated produc- 
tions to grow equally well in all parts also. 
This is generally the case, the exceptions 
being very few and influenced mainly by 
variation of the soil. 



PRODUCTIONS OF THE SOIL. 



43 



158. Grain. — Iowa is famous as a 
grain-growing state. The cultivated 
grains are corn, wheat, oats, barley, rye 
and buckwheat. Large quantities of the 
first four kinds are annually exported to 
other states and countries. 

159. Grasses and Clover. — Timo- 
thy grass and red clover are the principal 
kinds cultivated for hay, and blue grass 
and white clover for lawns and pasturage. 



Much hay, pressed into bales, is annually 
exported from the state. 

160, Flax is very commonly cultiva- 
ted, principally for its seed from which to 
make linseed oil. The fibre of the stalk 
is much used for ropes. If manufactories 
were established for the purpose, it would 
furnish the proper material for linen 
cloth. 




161. Hemp and Hops both grow 
well in Iowa. Hops do well upon some 
upland soils, but hemp grows most luxu- 
riantly upon the rich alluvial soil. 

162. Sorghum was formerly much 
cultivated for molasses, but its cultivation 
is now greatly diminished. 

163. Potatoes of the best quality 
are cultivated in great abundance, and 
many thousands of bushels are annually 



exported. Sioeet potatoes are grown sue 
cessfully in the southern part of the state. 

164. Garden Vegetables of all the 
kinds common in temperate climates 
grow well in all parts of Iowa. 

165. Apples and Pears. — Apples 
grow plentifully in all parts of the state. 
The State Agricultural Society has pub- 
lished the names of varieties of apples in 
three sets of one dozen each. One of 



44 



PRODUCTIONS OF THE SOIL. 




these sets is recommended as best suited 
to the northern, one to the central, and 
one to the southern part of the state. 
Pears grow well, but they have not yet 
become common, except in a few coun- 
ties. 

166. Peaches. — Almost the whole of 
Iowa is beyond the northern limit of suc- 
cessful peach-growing. In the southern 
part of the state trees often live to pro- 
duce a few good crops of fruit, but they 
are liable to be killed entirely by severe 
winters. 

167. Grapes of some of the cultivated 
varieties are grown successfully in all 
parts of the state. The two most noted 
varieties are the Catawba and the Con- 
cord, but several others are highly es- 
teemed. The . Catawba is grown mostly 
in southern Iowa, but the Concord is 
hardy in all parts of the state, and has 
become the most common grape in the 
markets. 



168. Plums would grow abundantly 
if the fruit was not so generally destroyed 
by the insect called curculio. 

169. Gooseberries, Raspberries, 
Currants, and Strawberries all grow 
abundantl}^ and finely. 

170. Tree Culture. — All varieties of 
native trees will grow well upon all vari- 
eties of the soil of Iowa if they are either 
transplanted or grown from the seed. 
Therefore the soil will produce a crop of 
fuel as certainly as it will a crop of food. 
Not only will the native trees grow well, 
but many that are not native will grow 
equally well also. Such, for example, as 
both the American and European larches, 
chestnut, evergreens, &c. 

171. Hedges. — The only hedge plant 
that has proved really successful in Iowa is 
the osage orange. It seldom succeeds well, 
however, north of the southern part of the 
state. Some other shrubs and trees have 
been tried for hedges, but without success. 




CHAPTER XI. 

ANIMALS. 



172. The Domestic Animals and 
Birds of Iowa are such as are coraiuon 
in all temperate climates, namely, — the 
horse, ox, sheep, hog, and the common 
fowl, turkey, goose, and ducks. Corn 
and grass are so abundant for feeding do- 
mestic animals that Iowa has become one 
of the most important parts of the nation 
for the production of heef, pork, and wool 
for exportation. Large quantities of poul- 
try, eggs, butter, cheese, and honey are 
also annually exported. 

173. Wild Animals and Birds.— 

"When a country becomes settled the wild 
animals and birds, as a rule, become 



fewer, and many kinds entirely disappear. 
There are some exceptions, however, es- 




46 



ANIMALS. 



pecially in the case of birds. Some 
kinds of birds either get better 
food from cultivated fields, or they 
are more protected from their nat- 
ural enemies by the presence of 
man. Quails, robins, swallows, 
and some other kinds are more 
plentiful than they were when the 
state began to be settled. Only the prin- 
cipal kinds of wild animals and birds are 
mentioned in the following paragraphs. 
"When it is not otherwise stated, they are 
to be found in all parts of the state. 




176, Fur Animals. — A very few 
beavers and otters are still found in some 
of the rivers. Muskrats, minks, and rac- 
coons are often met with, and foxes are 
occasionally seen. A few opossums are 
found in southern Iowa. 






174. The Buffalo and Elk were for- 
merly abundant in Iowa. The former 
has now entirely disappeared, and the 
latter only occasionally comes into the 
north-western part of the state. 

175. The Deer is still to be found in 
the thickly wooded districts of all parts of 
the state, but it is much more rarely seen 
than formerly. 



177. Ferocious Animals. — ITo 
animals that need be feared by man 
are now found in Iowa. When the 
state was first settled a solitary bear 
or a panther was occasionally, but 
very rarely, seen. They have long 
since entirely disappeared. The 
common wild cat and large gray wolf are 
among the most rare animals. Even the 
small prairie wolf, which was formerly so 
common, is now fast disappearing. 

178. Birds, of those kinds which are 
common in all the northern states, are 
plentiful in Iowa. Besides these there 
are a few peculiar and rare visitors. The 
raven is occasionally seen in the northern. 



ANIMALS. 



47 



and the yellow-headed blackbird 
in the north-western, part of the 
state. The parroquet, a bird much 
like a parrot, has been occasion- 
ally found in the southern tier of 
counties. 

179. Game Birds.— Wild tur- 
keys and partridges, or ruffed 
grouse, are occasionally found in 
the wooded districts. Prairie 
chickens are abundant upon the 
prairies, but they are disappearing 
from those regions in which the 
prairies are all cultivated. Quails i 
Snipes, woodcocks, 




are common. 



6caie of iuciies. 

, p , X 1 r 1 1- White Fish of the Lakes.— 2. Salmon— 3. Brook Trout.— 

and a tew curlews are to be tound, 4. Troutlet.~5. Great Lake Trout of Europe. These belong to 
in their season. Geese, swans, ^^^ Salmon Family. 

a few of all of them breed in the unset- 



and ducks are abundant, during both 
their spring and autumn migrations, and 




tied portions of northern Iowa. 



180. Fish. — The rivers of 
Iowa contain many kinds of fish, 
a good part of which are excel- 
lent for food. The markets of 
the cities situated upon the great 
rivers are regularly supplied with 
them. There are no fisheries in 
Iowa for preserving and export- 
ing fish, such as exist upon the 
lakes and sea coasts. 



Scale of inches, 
1. Brown Cat-Fish.— 8, Common Cat.Fish, or Horned Pout. 



CHAPTER XII. 



MISCELLANEOUS EESOUECES. 



181. Manufactures. — The article 
most commonly and extensively manufac- 
tured in Iowa is flour^ a great part of 
which is exported. Flour mills are so 
numerous in the state that one may be 
found \Yithin convenient distance of al- 
most every farmer. Other manufactures 
are woolen goods, farm and mill ma- 
chinery, wagons, linseed oil, hard wood 
lumber, paper, leather, and pottery. 



Congress made a large donation of land 
for the purpose, and the work was com- 
menced. Dams were built across the 
river, to raise the water so that boats 
might run, even in unusually dry seasons, 
and locks, like canal locks, were made at 
one end of each dam, through which 
boats might pass above and below. The 
plan failed, so far as navigation is con- 
cerned, but some of the dams remain 




i^^K^\s'5.^^-^,^ 



182. Navigation. — The Mississippi 
and Missouri are the only rivers of Iowa 
that are practically navigable. Small 
steamboats formerly navigated the Des 
Moines, Cedar, and Iowa rivers, but they 
have entirely ceased to do so. Before 
railroads were built, a plan was formed 
to make the Des Moines navigable as far, 
at least, as the present city of Des Moines, 
by a system of slack-water navigation. 



and are now used as mill-dams. The 
commerce of the Mississippi and Missouri 
is very great, and extends through about 
eight months of each year. It is carried 
on entirely by steamboats, except the 
lumber trade from the pine regions of 
Wisconsin. The lumber and logs are 
floated down the Mississippi in great 
rafts, upon which the workmen live until 
the raft reaches the place where it is to be 



MISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES. 



49 




taken out for sale. Many of the steam- 

ructu: 
delightful means of travel. 



boats are beautiful structures, and afford 



183. Water Power. — Although the 
general slope of the state is so slight, yet 
there is fall enough at intervals, in nearly 
all the streams, to afford good water 
power. In some of the rivers, as, for ex- 
ample, the Des Moines, Iowa, Cedar, 
Wapsipinicon, and others the water power 
is very great. 

184. Water is abundant and excel- 
lent in all parts of the state. Rills and 
small upper branches of the rivers are 
numerous, and springs are common, so 
that farm animals are naturally well sup- 
plied. Good wells may be dug almost 
anywhere. Upon the prairies water is 
usually found at from jB.fteen to thirty feet 
from the surface. Spring and well water 
is always " hard," that is, it contains car- 
bonate of lime in solution, consequently 
it is not well suited for washing purposes. 
Rains are frequent and seasonable, so 
that cisterns for washing water are fully 
supplied. Many families, especially in 
the towns and cities, use the cistern water 
for all purposes, and prefer it to any 
other. 



185. Artesian Wells have been 
bored with success at several places in 
Iowa. The one at the Hospital for 
the Insane,, at Mt. Pleasant, is 1125 
feet deep. In that well the water 
rose only to within thirty feet of the 
surface, but it overflowed freely from 
those at Keokuk, Farmington, and other 
places. Artesian wells probably cannot be 
obtained by boring at every place in the 
state, but many may no doubt be success- 
fully bored at different places. These 
wells consist of only a hole, five or six 
inches in diameter, drilled down into 
the ground and the underlying rocks. 
Then an iron tube in joints, like large 
gas pipe, is dropped down, so as to 
bring the water from the bottom of the 
hole. The water that falls upon the 
surface at long distances away soaks 
down into the ground, and by its weight 
finds its way between strata, and under 
those that will not allow it to pass 
up through them until they are pierced 
by the drill. Then the pressure of the 
accumlated water forces a part of it up 
constantly through the hole to the sur- 
face. 



186. Fuel. — The immense quantities 
of coal (see paragraph 132), the peat (see 
paragraph 81), and the forest trees (see 
paragraph 152), all show that Iowa is 
abundantly supplied with fuel. It is true 
that in some parts of the state fuel is now 
scarce, but it may be grown quickly and 
abundantly from the soil (see paragraph 
170). By means of the numerous rail- 



50 



CLIMATE. 



roads, also, the abundance of fuel in one 
part may readily be made to supply the 
deficiency in another. Besides all this, 
forest trees naturally encroach upon the 
prairies as soon as the fires are made to 
ceas^. In consequence of this, and of the 
artificial planting of trees, there is doubt- 
less more wood fuel now growing in 
Iowa than was growing in it when it first 
began to be settled. 

187. Building and Fence Materials, 

— Stone, brick clay, and lime have been 
mentioned in Chapter VIII. Considera- 
ble quantities of lumber for buildings and 
fences are made from the hard-wood trees 
of the state, but the greater part of lum- 



ber used in Iowa comes from the pine 
region of Wisconsin. It is fioated down 
the Mississippi in large rafts, and then 
carried out into the state by railroads. 
The oak trees furnish good materials for 
fence posts and rails. Hedges are men- 
tioned in paragraph 171. 

188. Road Materials. — In many 
parts of Iowa, especially the four north- 
ern counties that border upon the Mis- 
sissippi, stone suitable for road purposes 
is abundant. In many places gravel may 
be obtained from the river beds, but the 
roads of a large part of the state must 
always be upon the soil alone. 



CHAPTER XIII 



CLIMATE. 



189. The Climate Uniform. — The 

surface of the state is so uniform that there 
is no greater variety of climate in its dif- 
ferent parts than is caused by the difier- 
ence of latitude between the northern 
and southern boundaries, and by the dif- 
ference in elevation of its surface. The 
growing season of vegetation begins 
about ten days earlier upon the southern, 
than it does upon the northern, state 
boundary. As far as comfort, conveni- 
ence, and the growing of crops are con- 
cerned, the difterence of climate in differ- 
ent parts of the state is hardly to be 
noticed by the inhabitants. 



190. Rain and Snow. * — It was 
formerly thought that much less rain falls 
in Iowa than falls in the same latitude 
upon the Atlantic coast. Scientific ob- 
servation, by use of properly constructed 
apparatus, continued through many years, 
shows that the difference is not great. 
Measuring each fall of rain and snow in 
the apparatus, reducing the snow to 
water also, the annual fall in Iowa is 
found to average about forty-two inches. 



*The greater part of this chapter is taken from 
observations made by Prof. T. S. Parvin, Dr. Asa 
Horr, and Mr. Frank McClintock. 



CLIMATE. 



51 



On the Atlantic coast, in the same lati- 
tude, it is about forty-five inches. Less 
snow falls in Iowa than upon the New- 
England coast, but there is usually several 
weeks of sleighing here every winter. 

191. Freezing of the Rivers. — Both 
the Mississippi and Missouri usually 
freeze over opposite Iowa every winter 
and remain frozen from two to three 
months. During the last thirty years 
there have been but two winters in which 
the Mississippi did not freeze entirely 
over, and in these winters it remained 
open only below the upper rapids. All 
the smaller rivers freeze over every win- 
ter. 

192. Temperature. — Observations 
made at Muscatine and Iowa City during 
the thirty-two years ending with 1870, 
show that the greatest summer heat 
occurred in July, 1870, when it reached 

'100 degrees above zero (Fahrenheit). 
The greatest winter cold occured in Jan- 
uary, 1857, when the thermoneter stood 



at 30 degrees below zero, but these are 
great extremes. The mean average tem- 
perature for each month of the year 
extending over the whole thirty-two years 
is as follows, the figures showing the 
number of degrees above zero : — January 
20°, February 25°, March 35°, April 49°, 
May 59°, June 68°, July 73°, August 
71°, September 63°, October 50°, Novem- 
ber 26°, December 24°. The average 
annual temperature for the whole thirty- 
two years is 48° above zero. 

193. Flowering time of Fruit trees. 
— The average time of the appearance of 
the first apple flowers at Muscatine is 
May 6th. The average time of their first 
appearance at Dubuque is May 12th. 

194. Health. — As regards healthful- 
ness, Iowa ranked as only third among 
the states of the Union in 1850. The 
diseases peculiar to newly settled regions 
have since largely disappeared, so that no 
state is now superior to Iowa in health- 
fulness. 




QUESTIONS TO PART I. 



CHAPTER I. 

1. Compare Iowa with some other parts of the 
earth. 

2. Where is the highest land between the Mis- 
sissippi River and the Arctic Ocean ? 

3. How high is it above the level of the sea ? 

4. Explain the general features of North Amer- 
ica. 

5. What is the position of Iowa upon the con- 
tinent? 

CHAPTER II. 

1. Give the boundaries of Iowa. 

2. What is its greatest width? Its greatest 
length? 

3. Give the number of square miles. Number 
of acres. 

4. What are natural boundaries? Artificial 
boundaries ? 

5. Why are boundaries more irregular in some 
of the older States than in Iowa ? 

6. What is the name of the system of land sur- 
veys in use in Iowa ? 

7. How was all the land of Iowa first owned ? 

8. By what authority were the surveys made ? 

9. How were the surveys begun ? 

10. Name the two kinds of primary lines. 

11. What is the use of principal meridians ? 

12. What is the use of base lines? 

13. What principal meridian is used in Iowa? 

14. In what part of the State is it ? 

15. Where does it start from, and end? Its 
course ? 

16. Where is the base line from which the 
Iowa surveys are measured ? 

17. Where does it start from ? Its course ? 

18. Where do the base line and fifth principal 
meridian intersect? 

19. What is the size of a congressional town- 
ship? 

20. Why are they called congressional town- 
ships ? 

21. How are townships numbered ? 

22. What is the number of the northern tier of 
townships in Iowa ? 



23. In what township is the city of Keokuk ? 

24. How are the ranges numbered ? 

25. Give some examples in Iowa. 

26. How may these numbers serve as guides to 
localities ? 

27. What are correction lines? Why are they 
necessary ? 

28. Give the location of the correction lines in 
Iowa. 

29. How are townships divided ? 

30. How are the sections numbered ? 

31. How are sections divided, and their parts 
designated ? 

32. Give some example of description of land 
by the use of the land survey system. 

33. What is a "sectional map?" A "town- 
ship map ? " 

34. How are the township and range numbers 
placed on maps ? 

CHAPTER III. 

1. What is meant by the general level of the 
State ? 

2. How have the valleys been formed ? 

3. What distinction is made between " valley- 
sides " and " hill-sides ? " 

4. What is meant by " drainage slope ? " 

5. What is a water-shed ? 

6. Give the position of the Great Water-shed 
of Iowa. 

7. What are secondary water-sheds ? 

8. Is the Great Water-shed the highest land 
between the two great rivers, throughout its whole 
length ? 

9. What is the average height of Iowa above 
the sea ? 

10. Give the height of the four corners of the 
State. 

11. Give the height of the highest land in Iowa. 
Where is it? 

12. Give the height of the highest land upon 
the southern boundary of the State. In what 
county is it ? 

13. Give the height o2 the lowest land in Iowa. 
Where is it ? 



54 



QUESTIONS TO PART I. 



14. Give the slopes, per mile, upon the north- 
ern boundary. 

15. Give the slopes, per mile, upon the south- 
ern boundary. 

16. Give the slopes, per mile, of the eastern 
and western sides of the State. 

17. Give the slope from the highest to the low- 
est land in the State. 

18. What is the rate of the steepest of these 
slopes, in feet and inches ? 

19. Describe the prairies. What are rolling 
prairies ? 

20. Will trees grow upon the prairies, if plant- 
ed ? 

21. What has prevented their natural growth 
there? 

22. Are the prairies increasing or growing less ? 

CHAPTER IV. 

1. What is the origin of the names of the riv- 
ers? 

2. Is the river water usually clear, or other- 
wise? 

3. Describe the general character of the river 
valleys. 

4. What are the bluffs? 

5. Describe the bluflfs of the Mississippi. 

6. Describe the Mississippi bottom. 

7. Give the slope of the Mississippi from the 
northeast to the southeast corner of the state. 

8. How much does it differ from the slope be- 
tween those two points in a straight line? 

9. What are the Rapids of the Mississippi ? 

10. Give their locations and names. 

11. Give the length of the Tipper Rapids. The 
slope, in feet. 

12. Give the length of the Lower Rapids. The 
slope, in feet. 

13. Describe the bluflfs of the Missouri River. 

14. Describe the Missouri bottom. 

15. Give the slope of the Missouri along the 
Iowa border. 

16. Are the river valleys of Iowa very different 
from each other ? 

17. Give some account of the valleys of the 
Upper Iowa, Turkey, Maquoketa, and Wapsepine- 
con, Iowa and Cedar, Skunk and Des Moines 
rivers. 



18. Are the valley -sides very rocky ? 

19. Have those of Western Iowa as much rock 
as those of Eastern Iowa ? 

20. Give some description of the valleys of 
Chariton, Grand, and Nodaway Rivers. 

21. Give some description of the valleys of 
Nishnabotany, Little Sioux, and Big Sioux Rivers. 

CHAPTER V. 

1. Describe the bottom lakes. How were they 
formed ? 

2. Describe the upland lakes. 

3. Describe and give location of Spirit, Okoboji, 
Clear, and Storm Lakes. 

4. Explain the origin of the so-called walls of 
some lakes. 

5. What is peat? How is it formed ? 

6. Describe the pond-marshes. The spring- 
marshes. 

7. In what parts of Iowa is peat found ? 

8. Is it found mostly in pond or in spring 
marshes ? 

9. How is peat prepared and used for fuel ? 

CHAPTER VI. 

1. Define Geology. 

2. What different kinds of rocks is the earth's 
crust composed of? 

3. What are stratified ? How were they form- 
ed? 

4. What are fossils ? Where are they found ? 

5. How is it that stratified rocks are now found 
above the sea? 

6. How is earth-history taught by the eleva- 
tion of rocks? 

7. How is earth-history taught by fossils ? 

8. What are the branchas of Geology ? Define 
them. 

9. How is geological time studied, by years ? 

10. Name, in their order, the geological ages. 

11. Give the distinguishing characteristics of 
each age. 

12. Give the names of the divisions of strata. 

13. Describe the Glacial epoch. 

14. What is the drift? 

15. What is the origin of rock material? 



QUESTIONS TO PART I. 



55 



CHAPTER VII. 

1. Are rocks much exposed to view in Iowa? 

2. In what part of the state are they most 
plentifully seen ? 

3. Give the names of the formations of the 
state, beginning with the oldest. 

4. Give the name of each group with the for- 
mations belonging to it. 

5. Name the systems in their order, with the 
groups belonging to each. 

6. Explain the geological structure of the 
state by use of the geological map. 

7. Give the character of each of the Iowa 
formations in their order. 

8. Describe the character of the drift in Iowa. 

9. What are boulders ? What kinds of rock 
are they composed of ? 

10. What are drift scratches? How were they 
made? 

11. What other objects are found in the drift? 

12. What is the bluff deposit? Where is it 
found? 

13. What are its peculiarities ? Its origin ? 

14. What is alluvium ? Where found ? 



CHAPTER VIII. 

1. What is meant by the coal-field ? 

2. How many square miles in the Iowa coal- 
field? 

3. How is coal found ? 

4. What is the position of coal-beds in Iowa ? 

5. How is coal mined ? 

6. How do the miners work ? 

7. What kind of coal is found in Iowa ? 

8. What kinds of metals are found in the 
state ? 

9. Where is lead mined ? 

10. How is it found ? 

11. How is it smelted and prepared for the 
market ? 

12. Where is gypsum found? Describe the 
quarries. 

13. What is " plaster ? " Its use ? 

14. What is plaster of paris ? Its use ? 

15. What use is made of gypsum at Fort 
Dodge? 



16. In what parts of Iowa is stone most plenti- 
ful? Least? 

17. In what parts of Iowa may lime be made? 
What from ? 

18. Where is brick clay found? Where potters' 
clay? 

19. Where may sand be obtained ? 

CHAPTERS IX. & X. 

1. What is the quality of Iowa soil ? 

2. What portion of the surface of the state is 
tillable? 

3. What is meant by drift soil, bluff soil, and 
alluvial soil ? 

4. Is there great diversity of vegetation in 
different parts of Iowa ? 

5. Why is the vegetation probably so uni- 
form ? 

6. Name the most common kind of forest 
trees. 

7. Name those less common. 

8. What trees, common in eastern states, do 
not grow naturally in Iowa ? 

9. What kinds of native fruits grow in Iowa ? 

10. What kinds of nuts ? 

11. Is the wild hay of the prairies of much 
value ? 

12. Where does wild rice grow ? Is it of much 
value? 

13. Name the different kinds of field produc- 
tions. 

14. What kinds of garden vegetables may be 
cultivated? 

15. What kinds of fruit may be grown success- 
fully? 

16. Will forest trees grow successfully when 
planted or transplanted upon the prairies ? 

17. Have hedges proved successful ? 

18. What kind of shrubs are used for hedges? 

CHAPTER XI. 

1. Name the different kinds of domestic ani- 
mals. 

2. Name the different kinds of domestic birds. 

3. What products for export and use do each 
afibrd ? 



L., 



56 



QUESTIONS TO PART I. 



4. Are there many wild animals and birds in 
Iowa? 

5. What animals were formerly abundant, but 
now gone, or nearly so ? 

6. Is the deer still found ? 

7. What fur animals are still found in the 
State ? 

8. What ferocious animals were formerly, or 
now, found in the State ? 

9. What rare birds are found in the State ? 

10. Name the game birds of the State. 

11. Are fish abundant in the rivers and lakes? 



CHAPTER XII. 

1. What kinds of manufacturing are done in 
the State? 

2. Is water-power abundant ? Where ? 

3. What streams are navigable ? 

4. What plan was formerly tried for navigating 
the Des Moines ? 

5. Is water plentiful in all parts of Iowa, and 
easily obtained? 

6. How deep, usually, must the wells be dug ? 

7. Describe artesian wells. Why does the 
water rise ? 

8. Is fuel plentiful in all parts of the state ? 

9. Name the different kinds of fuel. 

10. Are building and fence materials abundant ? 



11. Where is pine lumber mostly obtained? 

12. How is it brought down the Mississippi ? 

13. Is road material abundant in all parts of 
Iowa 

CAAPTER XIII. 

1. Is the climate uniform in all parts of the 
State ? 

2. What is the diflference in the growing sea- 
son between the northern and southern parts of 
the State ? 

3. Does this diflference much affect the crops 
or the inhabitants ? 

4. How much rain falls annually in Iowa? 
How much on the Atlantic coast ? 

5. Does more snow fall here, or there ? 

6. Do the rivers of Iowa freeze over every 
winter ? 

7. What is the highest recorded degree of 
summer heat? When did it occur ? 

8. What is the lowest recorded degree of win- 
ter cold ? When did it occur ? 

9. What is the mean average temperature for 
each month in the year ? 

10. What is the average time of the flowering 
of apple trees in Dubuque and Muscatine ? 

11. What can you say as to the healthfulness 
of Iowa? 



PAET II. 



INSTITTJTIOITS. 




1. Right of Discovery. 
—At the time of the dis- 
^^. f\ covery of America, Chris- 
"^■"^^-^ *^^^ nations did not regard 
^^ ^ heathen people as having 
any rights that CKristians 



60 



HISTORY. 



were bound to respect. Christian explor- 
ers took possession of heathen countries, 
when they discovered them, without per- 
mission of the inhabitants, believing it 
right not only to do so, but to make war 
upon them if they resisted. In this way 
several of the nations of Europe laid 
claim to different portions of America, 
and called it theirs "by right of dis- 
covery." 

2. Claims of France and Spain. — 
France claimed that portion of North 
America which now includes Iowa, in 
consequence of its discovery by Mar- 
quette* in 1673. In 1763, France, by 
treaty, transferred her claim to Spain. 
Spain, by treaty, first in 1800, and con- 
firmed in 1801, ceded it back to France. 
Both of these transfers were made with- 
out any reference to the rights of the In- 
dians who occupied the country. 

3. The Louisiana Purchase. — By a 
treaty with France, made in April, 1803, 
the United States bought for fifteen mil- 
lions of dollarsf all the vast region Spain 
had ceded back to France in 1801. This 
transaction was called the " Louisiana 
Purchase," because the whole territory 
thus bought was at that time called Louisi- 

* Marquette, in company with Joliet, went from 
Quebec by way of the great lakes to Green Bay, 
thence across to the Wisconsin and down that 
river to the Mississippi. They were the first 
white men to see the land of Iowa. Their first 
view of it was from the mouth of the Wisconsin, 
nearly opposite McGregor. 

t Some authors say the sum was not so large. 



ana. It included all the country now 
owned by the United States west of the 
Mississippi, except Texas and the territory 
since obtained from Mexico. It was the 
first territory the United States owned 
west of the Mississippi. In this sale also 
no reference was had to any right of the 
Indians to the land. 

4. Purchases from the Indians. — 
Notwithstanding the example of other 
nations, and although the United States 
had paid France so large a sum of money 
for that territory, they have always re- 
garded the Indians as the rightful owners 
of the land, consequently they have, from 
time to time, as more land was needed 
for settlement, held treaties with the dif- 
ferent tribes of Indians and purchased it 
a second time from them. 

5. Territorial Grovemments. — It 

would require too much space to give the 
history of the different territories of which 
the region now called Iowa has at various 
times formed a part. The following, how- 
ever, is a statement of the names of the 
different territorial governments that have 
had jurisdiction over it from the time of 
the Louisiana purchase until its admission 
into the Union : — 

In 1804 the Louisiana purchase was 
divided into Orleans Territory and Louisi- 
ana District. The latter, which included 
what is now the state of Iowa, was placed 
under the jurisdiction of Indiana territory. 
In 1805 Louisiana district was made Lou- 
isiana territory, with a territorial govern- 
ment of its own. In 1812 a state having 



HISTORY. 



61 



been admitted into the Union with the 
name of Louisiana, the name of the terri- 
tory of Louisiana was changed to that of 
Missouri. In 1834 all the territory of the 
United States west of the Mississippi and 
north of the state of Missouri (of course 
including Iowa) was placed under the 
jurisdiction of the territory of Michigan. 
In 1836 the territory of Wisconsin was 
separated from the territory of Michigan. 
Iowa was then known as the Iowa district 
of Wisconsin territory, and the seat of 
government for the whole territory was at 
Burlington. In 1838 Iowa district received 
a separate territorial government, and Bur- 
lington remained the capital, not now of 
Wisconsin, but of Iowa territory. In 1839 
the capital was removed from Burlington 
to Iowa City. On December 28th, 1846, 
Iowa was admitted into the Union as a 
state, with its boundaries fixed as de- 
scribed in the next chapter. In 1857 the 




NEW CAPITOL BUILDING. 



capital was removed from Iowa City to 
Des Moines, where it now remains. 



6. Ancient Aborigines. — Remains 
of the work of human hands, which must 
necessarily be very ancient, are found in 
different parts of North America. In Iowa 
such remains consist principally of mounds 
of earth, and are often found crown- 
ing the river blufis and elsewhere. The 
mounds are usually circular in form, from 
fifteen to thirty feet in diameter, and from 
two to eight feet in height. Some of them 
were used as places for the burial of the 
dead, and some were not. No information 
concerning their origin could ever be ob- 
tained from Indians, nor from any other 
source. They are, no doubt, the work 
of an ancient people, long since passed 
away. 




7. * Indians of Iowa. — At the time 
of the Louisiana purchase the territory 



* The facts concerning the Indians of Iowa are 
from an unpublished history by Hon. Chas. Negus. 



62 



HISTORY. 



now embraced witliin the limits of Iowa 
was in possession of the Sioux, Sac, Fox, 
and Iowa tribes of Indians. How long 
they had occupied it, and what tribes had 
occupied it before them, is not known. 
The three last named tribes, were joined 
in a confederation and occupied the south- 
ern portion, as well as a large part of 
Missouri and Illinois. The Sioux occu- 
pied the northern portion, and also a 
large region adjoining it on the north and 
west. The Omaha, Ottoe, and Missouri 
tribes lived in what is now Nebraska, but 
claimed a part of western Iowa as hunt- 
ing ground. 

8. Treaties and Purchases. — At 
five or six different treaties held with the 







"various tribes of In- 
dians, from 1830 to 
1851, the United States 
have purchased of 
them all the land in 
Iowa. The Indians 
have, from time to time, 
moved westward, until 
all are gone, except a 




small company of Sacs and Foxes that 
now live in Tama coun^. 

9. Early Settlements. — Some French 
pioneers and American hunters had long 
lived among the Indians, by their permis- 
sion, but the whites were first permitted 
by the government to settle in Iowa, in 
June, 1833. The Blackhawk war had 
closed the autumn before. The part of 
Iowa first opened to settlement was called 
the "Blackhawk Purchase." This pur- 
chase embraced the country from the 
northern boundary of Missouri to within 
twenty miles of the Upper Iowa river. It 
was from forty to fifty miles wide, the 
Mississippi being its eastern border. A 
few Frenchmen had settled at Montrose, 
and also at Dubuque, 
before the close of the 
last century, but the 
first settlements by 
Americans in Iowa 
were made at Fort 
Madison, Burlington, 
and Dubuque. The 
counties of Des Moines 
and Dubuque were the 
first organized. 



10. Increase of 
Population. — That 
the population of Iowa 
has rapidly increased 
since its admission as 
a state, is shown by the 
following table : — 



HISTORY. 



63 



In 1846 the pop. was 97,588 
" 1850 " " " 191,982 
" 1860 " " " 674,913 
" 1870 " " " 1,191,792 

11. Post Offices.— 
From 1833 to 1870 
there have been nearly 
six hundred post offici 
established in Iowa. 
All post offices are es- 
tablished and main- 
tained by the United 
States government, 
and all postmasters are 
appointed by the Pres- 
ident of the United 
States. 

12. Railroads. — 

The first train of cars 
in Iowa was run from 
Davenport, in 18 5 5, 





upon what is now called the Chicago, Rock 

Island & Pacific Railroad. From that time 

until the present the building of railroads has 

progressed rapidly. There are now not far 

from four thousand miles of railroads in the state, upon 

which trains are running, and much more is in process of 

construction. Four lines now run entirely across the state, 

from east to west, and another is soon to be completed. Three 

lines run across it from north to south, and two others are in 

progress of construction. The other lines are shorter, and 

connect with the principal lines, 

13. Soldiers. — Iowa furnished eighty-three thou- 
sand soldiers to the armies of the Union in the war 
of the great rebellion. In all those armies none 
were braver or better than Iowa soldiers. 



CHAPTER II. 



STATE GOVERNMENT. 



Section 1. The General Government 

14. The Supreme Law of the Na- 
tion. — The constitution of the United 
States, the laws of congress made in ac- 
cordance with that constitution, and all 
treaties made by authority of the United 
States, together constitute the supreme 
law of the nation. No state can form a 
constitution for itself, nor enact any valid 
law at variance with this supreme law. 

15. The United States Government. 
—A brief outline of the United States 
government is given here because of its 
intimate relation to the state governments, 
and because both are constructed upon a 
similar plan. The United States govern- 
ment consists of three branches, namely, — 
the legislative, executive, and judicial. 

16. The Legislative Branch consists 
of the two houses of congress, namely, — 
the senate and the house of representa- 
tives. The senate is composed of two sen- 
ators from each state, whether the state 
be large or small, or whether it has many 
or few iiihabitants. The hou^e of repre- 
sentatives consists of members elected by 
the people of each state. The number 
of representatives in congress each state 
is entitled to depends upon the number of 
its inhabitants. But each state is entitled 
to at least one representative without re- 
gard to the number of its inhabitants. 



17. The Executive Branch of the 
United States government is vested in the 
President of the United States, who is 
elected by the people, and holds his office 
four years. 

18. The Judicial Branch is vested in 
the judges of the supreme court of the 
United States, who are appointed by the 
United States senate, and hold their office 
during good behavior. 

Section 2. Tlie State Government. 

19. The Constitution. — A constitu- 
tion is the fundamental law of the state, 
prescribing the power of the departments 
of its government, and securing the rights 
and explaining the duties of its citizens. 
The constitution of a state is the supreme 
law of that state, so far as its own citi- 
zens are concerned, and no legislature 
can enact any valid law at variance with 
it. Before the application of a state to be 
admitted into the Union can be made, the 
people must form a -constitution and pre- 
sent it to congress for approval. It must 
be approved by congress before the state 
can be admitted. A state may at any 
time afterward, by a proper vote of the 
people, amend its constitution or make a 
new one. 

20. State Constitution of Iowa.— 
The constitution which was adopted when 



STATE GOVERNMENT. 



65 



Iowa became a state, is known as the 
" old constitution," because in 1857 it was 
changed for another, known as the " new 
constitution." The latter is now in force, 
except that in 1868 the word " white " 
was stricken out, by vote of the people, 
so that colored persons should have the 
same privileges and responsibilities as 
white people, which before were not 
granted them. 

21. Bill of Rights. — The first article 
of the constitution is called the bill of 
rights. It is a statement of the natural and 
inalienable rights of man, among which 
are, — political power, freedom from relig- 
ious control, uniformity of law to all, lib- 
erty of speech and of the press, personal se- 
curity, trial by jury, freedom from official 
arrest and imprisonment without showing 
due cause,* subordination of the military 
to the civil power, protection of property, 
etc. 

22. The Right of Suffrage.— The 
second article of the constitution provides 
that "every male citizen of the United 
States, of the age of twenty-one years, 
who shall have been a resident of this 
state six months, next preceding the elec- 
tion, and of the county in which he claims 
his vote sixty days, shall be entitled to 
vote at all elections which are now or 
hereafter may be authorized by law. All 
elections by the people shall be by ballot." 

23. Departments of the State Gov- 
ernment. — The departments of the state 
government of Iowa correspond to what 

* That is, the right of habeas cojyms. 



are termed branches of the United States 
government, in paragraph fifteen. The 
constitution provides that " the powers of 
the government of Iowa shall be divided 
into three separate departments, — the leg- 
islative, executive, and judicial." 

Section 3. The Legislative Department. 

24. Powers. — To the legislative de- 
partment belongs the making of all the 
laws of the state, and also the power to re- 
peal laws, all with the restrictions men- 
tioned in paragraph 14. The legislative 
department is vested in the — 

25. General Assembly. — This con- 
sists of a senate and house of representa- 
tives, and meets in regular session at the 
capitol, in the city of Des Moines, every 
second year, in January. The senate 
shall consist of not more than fifty sena- 
tors. The house of representatives shall 
consist of not more than one hundred 
members. 

26. Districts. — For the purpose of 
electing members of the general assembly, 
or, as it is usually called, the legislature, 
the state is divided into senatorial and 
representative districts. In many cases a 
district consists of a single county, but 
several of the less thickly populated coun- 
ties together sometimes form a district. 
The limits of these districts may be 
changed by any general assembly. 

27. The Senate. — Senators are elected 
for four years, by the people of each sen- 
atorial district, and serve in two regular 
sessions. No one can be elected senator 



66 



STATE GOVERNMENT. 



until he is twenty-five years old, and has 
the qualifications required of voters, as 
shown in paragraph 22. The presiding 
oflSlcer of the senate is the lieutenant 
governor. 

28. House of Representatives. — 
Representatives are elected for two years, 
and serve in one regular session. They 
must be twenty-one years old, and have 
the required qualifications of voters, as 
shown in paragraph 22. The members 
of the house of representatives elect one 
of their number " speaker," who is their 
presiding officer. 

29. Law Making. — A bill is a written 
draft of a desired law, and may be pre- 
sented first in either the senate or house 
of representatives. A bill becomes a law 
when it is passed and approved. To pass 
a bill it must receive a ynajority of the votes 
of all the members elected to the general 
assembly, first in one house and then in 
the other. When a bill is passed it is 
sent to the governor for his approval. If 
he approves it he signs his name to it and 
it becomes a law. If he does not approve 
it he vetoes it, that is, he sends it back to 
the general assembly with a statement of 
his objections. If both houses then pass 
the bill again by a two-thirds vote in each, 
it becomes a law without the governor's 
approval. If it does not receive two-thirds 
of the votes in both houses, it fails to be- 
come a law. All new laws take effect on 
the 4th of J uly after their passage, unless 
otherwise provided. 



Section 4. The Executive Department. 

30. The Grovernor. — The supreme 
executive power is vested in the governor, 
who is elected by the people of the whole 
state, at the general election, and holds 
his office two years. His term of office 
begins on the second Monday of January 
next after his election. No person shall 
be eligible to the office of governor who 
shall not have been a citizen of the United 
States, and a resident of the state two 
years next preceding the election, and at- 
tained the age of thirty years at the time 
of the election. The governor is com- 
mander-in-chief of the militia, army, and 
navy of the state. He shall see that the 
laws are faithfully executed. He shall fill 
vacancies in office, when they occur, by 
appointment, in case the law does not 
otherwise provide for filling them. He 
may, on extraordinary occasions, convene 
the general assembly in extra session. He 
keeps the great seal of the state. He shall 
communicate, by message, to the general 
assembly, at every regular session, the 
condition of the state, and recommend 
such matters as he shall deem expedient. 
He may pardon any person convicted in 
the courts of any crime, except treason, 
and in cases of impeachment, or he may 
change the character of the punishment 
inflicted by the courts to a milder one. 

31. The Lieutenant Governor. — The 
manner of election, eligibility, and term 
of office is the same for lieutenant gov- 
ernor as for governor. The lieutenant 
governor is president of the senate. In 



STATE GOVERNMENT. 



67 



case the governor should die, or otherwise 
vacate his office, the lieutenant governor 
becomes governor, and the senate elect a 
president in his place from among them- 
selves. 

32. Other State Officers. — A secre- 
tary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of 
state, superintendent of public instruction, 
and register of the state land office are 
elected by the people of the state every 
two years, at the general election. 

33. The Secretary of State has 
charge of the official papers of the state. 
He countersigns all commissions issued 
by the governor, certifies to all laws and 
resolutions passed by the general assem- 
bly, and performs various other duties. 

' 34. The Auditor of State is its busi- 
ness officer. He keeps all its accounts, 
and settles accounts between the state and 
its public officers. Also between the state 
and the United States, and between this 
state and other states. 

35. The Treasurer of State. — It is 
the duty of the treasurer of state to take 
charge of, and safely keep, for the use of 
the state, all its moneys, and to pay them 
out as provided for by law. 

36. The Superintendent of ^Public 
Instruction (see paragraph 108). 

37. The Register of the State Land 
Office has charge of all the lands belong- 
ing to the state. When they are sold, 
the title issues from his office to the pur- 
chaser. 



Section 5. The Judida.l Department. 

38. Composition and Officers. — 
The judicial department comprises a su- 
preme court, district court, and circuit court. 
Its officers are judges of the supreme 
court, clerk of the supreme court, re- 
porter of the supreme court, attorney 
general, district and circuit judges, and 
district attorneys, — all of whom are elected 
by the people at the general election. 

39. The Supreme Court consists of 
four judges. Their term of office is six 
years. They are so classified that each 
judge in succession becomes chief justice 
before his term expires. Besides the per- 
formance of other functions, the supreme 
court constitutes a court for the correction 
of errors at law, and also exercises super- 
visory control over all inferior courts 
throughout the state. If a party to a 
suit in either the circuit or district court 
should not be satisfied with the decision 
given there, appeal may be made to the 
supreme court. 

40. The Reporter and Clerk of the 
Supreme Court. — The reporter reports 
and publishes in book form all the de- 
cisions of the supreme court, that they 
may be used as guides in the inferior 
courts when they have similar causes be- 
fore them. The clerk of the supreme 
court records all its judgments and pro- 
ceedings. The term of office for both is 
four years. 

41. The Attorney General is elected 
for two years. It is his duty to be 



68 



STATE GOVERNMENT. 



present at tlie sessions of the supreme 
court, to be the attorney for the state in 
all cases when its interests are involved, 
and to be the adviser and counsellor of the 
general assembly, all the officers of state, 
and of the district attorneys. 

42. Judicial Districts. — The state is 
now divided into fourteen judicial dis- 
tricts, but the number may be increased 
when necessary. The people of these 
districts, every four years, at the general 
election, choose one judge of the district 
court, one judge of the circuit court, and 
one district attorney. 

43. The District and Circuit Judges 
each hold their courts at stated, but differ- 
ent times, at the county seat of every 
county in their district. Both judges 
have jurisdiction in the same kinds of 
causes, except probate and criminal causes. 
Probate causes come only before the cir- 
cuii court, and criminal causes come only 
before the district court. 

44. District Attorney. — It is the 
duty of the district attorney to conduct 
the prosecution of all persons in his dis- 
trict accused of crime against the laws of 
the state. He must also act as the adviser 
and counsellor of the county officers of 
each county in his district. His relation 
to the district court and the county offi- 
cers is somewhat similar to the relation of 
the attorney general to the supreme court 
and state officers. 

Section 6. Miscellaneous. 

45. United States Senators are 



elected by a majority of the votes of the 
two houses of the general assembly in 
joint session. Their term of office is six 
years. 

46. Representatives in Congress 
are elected by the people at the general 
election. Their term of office is two 
years. The state is divided into as many 
districts as the number of representatives 
it is entitled to in congress. These are 
called congressional districts, and the peo- 
ple of each elect one representative. Each 
district contains as nearly as practicable 
the same number of inhabitants, but they 
vary greatly in size. 

47. Districts. — It has been shown 
that the state is 4ivided into districts of 
various kinds, namely, — senatorial, rep- 
resentative, judicial, and congressional. 
All are liable to have their boundaries 
changed, as the increasing population and 
wants of the people require. 

48. Militia. — The law provides that 
all male persons between the ages of 
eighteen and forty-five years, except such 
as are exempt by the laws of the United 
States, shall be enrolled as the militia of 
the state. When war does occur there 
are so many ready to volunteer that the 
militia of Iowa has never been called upon 
for soldiers, except in the time of the 
great rebellion. The religious opinions 
of some persons make them unwilling to 
go to war. The law will not compel such 
a person to go, but, if called upon, he 
must pay a sum equal to that which is 
paid to one who does go. 



CHAPTER III. 



COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS. 



Section 1. Counties. 

49. Boundaries. — The state is divided 
into ninety-nine counties, the boundaries 
and names of which have been fixed by 
law of the general assembly. Their 
boundaries usually follow township and 
range lines, except those that are also 
parts of the state boundary lines. This 
gives most of the counties a rectangular 
outline, as may be seen by a glance at a 
map of the state. 

50. County Seats. — The people of 
each county select a place at which to 
transact its principal business. This is 
called the county seat, and is usually near 
the centre of the county. Here its ofii- 
ces are located, its records are kept, and 
its courts are held. The county usually 
owns a house called a court house, which 
contains rooms for its offices, safes for its 
records and money, and a large hall in 
which to hold its courts. It has a jail 
also in which to confine criminals. 

51. Poor House. — it is the duty of 
the people to take care of the poor, and 
to see that none sufi"er for want of food 
and shelter, who are not able to provide 
for themselves. Each county must pro- 
vide for its own poor. For this purpose 
it usually owns a poor house and farm, in 
some part of the county, to which the 
poor people are aent. 



52. County Officers. — The county 
officers are all elected by the people at 
the general election, and hold their offices 
two years. The officers are, — three su- 
pervisors, one auditor, one clerk of the 
district and circuit courts, one sherifi*, one 
treasurer, one recorder, one superintend- 
ent of schools, one coroner, and one sur- 
veyor. The number of supervisors may, 
in certain cases, be increased to five or 
seven. In no case shall two supervisors 
reside in the same township. 

53. The Board of Supervisors. — 
The duties of the board of supervisors 
are numerous. They are the general 
business managers of the afiPairs of the 
county. They have control of its prop- 
erty, and authority in relation to the roads. 
They levy the state and county taxes. 
They examine and audit all accounts 
against the county. They ^ant ferry 
licenses and provide for the erection of 
bridges. They build and keep in repair 
the necessary, buildings for the use of the 
county and the district and circuit courts. 

54. The Auditor is required to act as 
clerk of the board of supervisors, to per- 
form certain duties in relation to the 
school fund and school lands of the 
county, the establishment, change, and 
vacation of roads, and the transfer of 
records of deeds. 



70 



COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS. 



55. Clerk of the District and Cir- 
cuit Courts. — The clerk of the district 
court is also clerk of the circuit court. 
These courts have a clerk for every county 
in their district, but he is numbered 
among the county officers. It is his duty 
to keep the records of the courts, and to 
have custody of their papers and seals. 

56. The Sheriff is called the chief 
ministerial officer of the county. It is 
his duty to attend at every session of the 
district and circuit courts of his county. 
He makes arrests, serves writs and other 
legal processes. He has charge of the 
jail and of the prisoners in it. He also 
performs various other duties, in all of 
which he may have deputies and bailiffs 
to assist him. 

57. The Treasurer. — It is the duty 
of the treasurer to collect all taxes at his 
office, to take charge of the money of the 
county, and pay it out as provided for by 
law. 

58. The Recorder. — It is the duty of 
the recorder to write a full copy of every 
deed to land, and every similar writing 
which is made in the county, in books 
kept for that purpose. This is done for 
the purpose of preserving in a safe place 
the evidence of ownership of the peo- 
ple in their property, and to give public 
notice of such ownership. 

59. The Coroner. — Should the office 
of sheriff become vacant, from any cause, 
the coroner must act as sheriff'. In case 
a person is supposed to have died by un- 



lawful means, it is the duty of the coroner 
to hold an inquest on the body, to ascer- 
tain the facts, if possible. 

60. Superintendent of Schools. — 
(See paragraph 109). 

61. The Surveyor. — It is the duty of 
the county surveyor to make all surveys of 
land within his county which he may be 
called upon to make. 

63. Notary Public. — Notaries public 
are not properly county officers, yet the 
powers of each are limited to his own 
county. They are commissioned by the 
governor, and hold their office three 
years, unless sooner removed. There 
may be one or more in each county. A 
notary public may administer oaths, and 
take the acknowledgment of deeds. He 
also performs certain other duties per- 
taining to the custom and law of mer- 
chants and bankers. He must have a 
seal and use it upon the deeds and other 
writings of which he takes acknowledg- 
ment and proof. 

Section 2. Townships. 

63. Civil Townships. — Every county 
is divided into civil townships, each of 
which receives a name. They are of such 
size and shape as the people shall deter- 
mine, and may be afterward changed or 
divided. Their boundaries often follow 
congressional township lines, and in many 
cases a civil township consists of one 
whole congressional township. Civil town- 
ships are formed as parts of the system of 
government. Congressional townships are 



COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS. 



71 



formed as a part of the system of land- 
surveys, established by congress. 

64. The Township OflBcers are, — 
three trustees, one clerk, one assessor, two 
constables (or more if necessary), and two 
justices of the peace (or more if necessary). 
Also one road supervisor for each road dis- 
trict in the township. The term of office 
for each is one year, except that of justice 
of the peace, which is two years, and they 
are elected by the people at the general 
election. 

65. The Trustees have the general 
management of aifairs pertaining to the 
township. They are the judges of the 
general election. They order notices of 
election to be given, and fix the places of 
holding them. They are overseers of the 
poor, and fence viewers. They divide 
the township into suitable road districts. 

66. The Clerk keeps a record of the 
proceedings and orders of the trustees. 
He also prepares and keeps a register of 
the qualified voters of his township, to be 
used at elections, and also serves as clerk 
at elections. 

67. Assessor. — It is the duty ot the 
assessor to make a list of every person in 
his township. He must also make out a 
list of all the property in his township 
that is liable to taxation. To this list he 
must affix the value of each piece of 
property, according to the best of his 
judgment, that it may be properly taxed. 



68. Constables. — The duties of con- 
stables are not confined wholly to their 
townships, but they are, in part, county 
officers also. They are ministerial offi- 
cers in the courts of justices of the peace, 
having a relation there somewhat similar 
to that of sheriiFs in district and circuit 
courts. They serve writs and summonses, 
perform various duties as preservers of 
the peace, and attend upon the district 
and circuit courts as bailiffs at the request 
of the sheriff. 

69. Justices of the Peace. — Al- 
though a justice of the peace is elected 
by the voters of his township only, he is 
in some respects a county officer also. 
Not only this, but he holds an important 
relation to the judicial department of the 
state. His duties are various. He holds 
court as judge in the trial of disturbers of 
the peace, in the preliminary trial of per- 
sons accused of crime, and in the collec- 
tion of debts of less amount than one 
hundred dollars. He may perform the 
marriage ceremony, and take the ac-- 
knowledgment of deeds. In the latter 
case he need not have a seal, such as the 
notary public is required to use. 

70. Road Supervisors superintend 
the repairs of roads in their districts, and 
require every man between the ages of 
twenty-one and fifty years to work two 
days in each year on the roads, or pay 
the wages of another man to do it. 



CHAPTER IV. 



CITIES AND TOWNS. 



71. Municipal Government. — Be- 
sides the division of the sta^e into coun- 
ties, and the counties into townships, 
each having their own pecuhar organiza- 
tion and officers, as before described, 
there may also be incorporated cities and 
towns, each having a separate govern- 
ment, called a municipal government. 
The township government and officers 
are never superseded by municipal gov- 
ernments and their officers, but the form- 
er always exist just as if the latter did 
not. Neither do municipal governments 
supersede or interfere with the county 
government except so far as the control 
of roads, streets, ferries, and bridges is 
concerned. Incorporated towns and cities 
are laid off into lots, with streets at con- 
venient distances. The extent of territory 
that each shall embrace is determined by 
the inhabitants. 

72. Cities are divided into two class- 
es according to the number of their in- 
habitants. Those of the iirst class must 
have at least fifteen thousand inhabitants, 
and those of the second class at least two 
thousand. Each city is divided into 
wards. Some of the older cities of Iowa 
were organized under "special charters" 
before the general law was passed, divid- 
ing them into classes. 

73. Cities of the First Class.— The 
officers of a city of the first class are, — 



one mayor, a city council, consisting of 
two trustees from each ward, one mar- 
shal, one treasurer, one auditor, one soli- 
citor, one police judge, and one superin- 
tendent of the market. The term of 
office for each is two years. Other offi- 
cers may be elected, and many others are 
appointed by the council. 

74. The Mayor is the chief officer of 
the city. He presides at the meetings of 
the council and is also a magistrate. His 
duties in the latter respect are much the 
same as those of a justice of the peace. 

75. The Council pass laws, called 
ordinances, for the government of the 
city, levy taxes, appoint subordinate 
officers, &c. 

76. The Marshal is the chief minis- 
terial officer of the city. He attends upon 
the courts of the mayor and police judge. 
His other general duties are similar to 
those of constable. 

77. The Treasurer has charge of all 
money belonging to the city, and pays it 
out according to the orders of the council. 

78. The Auditor attends to the gen- 
eral financial business of the city. 

79. The Solicitor must be a lawyer. 
He conducts such legal business for the 
city as it may require, and acts as adviser 
and counsellor of the city officers. 



ELECTIONS AND TAXES. 



73 



80. Police Judge. — The police judge 
is the principal magistrate of a city of the 
first class. The other official business of 
majors of large cities is so great that the 
magisterial duties are usually performed 
by police judges. Their courts are called 
police courts. In addition to violations 
of the city ordinances they have jurisdic- 
tion in all causes, such as may be brought 
before a justice of the peace, 

81. The Superintendent of the 
Market has charge of the buildings and 
places provided by the city for the sale of 
fresh meat and vegetables. 

82. Cities of the Second Class. — 
The officers of a city of the second class 
are, a mayor, a city council, composed of 



two trustees from each ward, a treasurer, 
and a solicitor. Their terms of office are 
each one year, except that of solicitor, 
which is two years. Other officers are 
appointed by the city council. The du- 
ties of the officers of cities of the second 
class are the same as those of correspond- 
ing officers of cities of the first class. 

83. Incorporated Towns may com- 
prise any number of inhabitants up to two 
thousand, when they are entitled to be- 
come cities of the second class. Their 
organization is much like that of cities. 
The officers are, a mayor, a recorder, and 
five trustees, all of whom together form 
the council. The term of office for each 
is one year. 



CHAPTER V. 



ELECTIONS AND TAXES. 



Section 1. Elections. 

84. Kinds of Elections. — Elections 
are, — general, municipal, school, and 
special. The manner of holding elec- 
tions is essentially the same in all cases, 
so that the general election only is de- 
scribed. 

85. The General Election 'is held in 
autumn, in each township. The following 
officers are chosen at this election, but as 
the term of some of them is longer than 
that of others, all those named are not 



elected every autumn: Electors of the 
president and vice-president of the United 
States, representatives in congress, state 
senators and representatives, the governor, 
and all other state officers, judges of the 
supreme, district, and circuit courts, clerk 
of the supreme court, reporter of the su- 
preme court, attorney general, district at- 
torneys, and all county and township 
officers. 

86. Manner of Holding the Gen- 
eral Election. — The place or room in 



74 



ELECTIONS AND TAXES. 



which the election is held is called the 
poll. The persons who conduct the elec- 
tion are the judges and two clerks. The 
township trustees are the judges, and the 
township clerk is one of the clerks of the 
election. The township clerk has at the 
poll a register of the voters of the town- 
ship, which has been previously prepared. 
They have also two other books in which 
to register the names of the persons vot- 
ing. These are called the poll-books. 
Each voter must have the names of the 
persons whom he desires shall be elected 
to the different offices to be filled, together 
with the names of such officers, either 
written or printed upon a piece of paper, 
called a ballot. The ballots are usually 
printed, and are commonly called tickets, 
but the voter may alter such a ballot, if 
he chooses, before he deposits it. He 
gives his name to one of the judges, and 
at the same time hands him his ballot. A 
clerk examines the register, and informs 
the judge whether the person is registered 
as a qualified voter or not. If he is, the 
judge drops the ballot into the box, and 
both clerks write his name in the poll- 
books and check his name on the register, 
to show that he has voted. 

87. The Ballot Box may be made of 
any material. It must have a lock and 
key to close the lid, and a slit in the top 
through which to drop the ballots. 

88. The Canvass. — Counting and 
arranging the ballots, and counting the 
votes for each officer after the election is 
over, is called the canvass. This is done 
by the judges and clerks. 



89. The Returns. — A statement of 
how many votes have been cast, and for 
whom, is called the returns. Such a state- 
ment made by the proper officers accord- 
ing to law is called the " official returns." 

90. Municipal Elections are those at 
which the officers of incorporated towns 
and cities are chosen. They are held in 
the spring. 

91. School Elections are those at 
which directors of school districts are 
elected, and other questions are decided. 
They are held in the spring. They are 
not always conducted with the same for- 
mality that the general election is. 

92. Special Elections may be of 
either of the other three kinds. They 
are either ordered by authority, or pro- 
vided for by law, to fill vacancies that may 
unexpectedly occur, or to decide questions 
of unusual or infrequent occurrence. 

93. Oath of Office. — Every person 
elected to an office must either swear or 
affirm that he will faithfully perform its 
duties, and support the constitution of his 
state, and the constitution of the United 
States, before he can enter upon those 
duties. 

94. Other Matters Decided at Elec- 
tions. — The people may, at any election, 
decide other matters besides the choice of 
officers. For example, they may, in cer- 
tain cases, choose whether the boundaries 
of their city, township, county, or state 
may be changed; whether special taxes 



ELECTIONS AND TAXES. 



75 



shall be levied, and for what purpose; 
whether the state constitution shall be 
changed, &c. 

95. Primary Meetings. — Any voter 
may prepare his ballot independently of 
every other voter, and may also become 
a candidate for any office, if he chooses. 
But usually the candidates for the various 
offices are nominated at primary meetings. 
These meetings are sometimes called con- 
ventions, and sometimes caucuses. They 
are not required by law, but are held by 
such members of the different political 
parties as choose to attend. No person is 
expected to take part in the meetings of 
any but his own party. Each party pro- 
cures printed tickets for its own candi- 
dates. These printed tickets are com- 
monly used by all voters, but they may 
erase any name and add another in the 
place of it, if they choose to do so. 

Section 2. Taxes. 

96. Necessity for Taxation. — 

Money is necessary to pay the ordinary 
expenses of municipal, township, county, 
and state governments, and the salaries 
of officers. Also to erect public build- 
ings, establish and repair roads, build 
bridges and school houses, support 
schools, &c. For this purpose taxes are 
levied in such a way that each one pays 
in proportion to the value of the property 
owned. 



97. How Taxes are Levied. — An 

estimate is made, by the proper officers, 
of the amount of money required. They 
then sum up the estimates, made by the 
assessors, of the value of the property 
liable to be taxed. From these data they 
ascertain the percentage of tax that must 
be collected by the treasurer. 

98. How Taxes are Paid. — It is the 

duty of every person owning taxable prop- 
erty to go to the treasurer and pay the 
tax. It is not the duty of the treasurer 
to demand it. People living in incorpo- 
rated towns and cities have double tax to 
pay. In other words, they have the mu- 
nicipal tax to pay, in addition to the ordi- 
nary tax levied by the board of super- 
visors on the same property. 

99. Property Exempt from Taxa- 
tion. — United States property, state and 
county property, certain property of indi- 
viduals, churches, school houses, and 
some other property are not subject to 
taxation. 

100. Road Tax. — Besides the tax 
levied on property for road purposes, a 
poll-tax of two days work on the public 
road is required from every man from 
twenty-one to fifty years of age. It is the 
duty of the road supervisors to require 
this, or to collect an equivalent in money, 
which money must be expended in repairs 
of the road. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. 



101. Object of the System.— It is 
the duty of the state to provide for the 
free instruction of all its youth of both 
sexes. For this purpose the law requires 
public schools to be established, to which 
all are admitted, between the ages of five 
and twenty-one years, and also that they 
shall be kept in operation at least six 
months of each year, and as much longer 
than six months in each year as the in- 
habitants may choose. 

102. School Districts. — The whole 
state is divided into school districts^ each 
civil township constituting such a district. 
School districts are divided into sub-dis^ 
tricis for convenient arrangement of the 
schools, and to determine where the 
pupils shall attend. Cities, and incorpo- 
rated towns of not less than three hun- 
dred inhabitants, may be organized as in- 
dependent school districts, if the inhabitants 
desire. 

103. School Funds. — The money for 
the support of the public schools of the 
state is derived from taxes levied for the 
purpose, and from several other sources. 
This money, and the school lands, also, 
are under the general management and 
control of the general assembly. But 
80 far as the practical working of the 
school system is concerned, the money is 
under the control and management of the 
board of county supervisors and district 
directors in the various counties. The 



law provides that the school moneys shall 
consist of three funds, namely, — a teachers' 
fund, a school house fund, and a contingent 
fund. 

104. The Teachers' Fund is derived 
from the following sources : — 

1. Cons:ress donated to the state for 
school purposes the sixteenth section in 
every congressional township in the state. 
That section is therefore often called the 
"school section." 

2. Half a million acres of other land 
donated to the state for school purposes 
in 1841. 

3. Congress also donates to the state 
for school purposes five per cent of the 
price received for public lands sold in 
Iowa. 

4. The estates of all persons who die 
without will or heirs. 

5. The clear proceeds of fines inflicted 
for breach of the penal laws of the state. 

6. The proceeds of sales of lost goods 
and estrays. 

7. All forfeitures in cases where un- 
lawful interest is proved to have been re- 
quired in the loaning of money. 

8. Money paid by persons liable to, 
but exempt from, military duty. 

9. A county school tax of not less than 
one mill, nor more than two and a half 
mills on the dollar, levied by the board of 
supervisors on the taxable property of the 
county. 



THE PUBLIC SCnOOL SYSTEM. 



77 



105. The Contingent Fund is derived 
from an aunual tax upon the taxable prop- 
erty of the county, levied by the super- 
visors. This is to meet the necessary ex- 
pense of rent, fuel, repairs, &c. 

106. The School House Fund is de- 
rived from special tax levied by the board 
of supervisors upon the taxable property 
of any sub-district in which a school house 
is needed, at the request of the board of 
directors of the district in which such sub- 
district is located. Such a tax cannot ex- 
ceed one and one half per cent in one 
year upon the value of the taxable prop- 
erty of the sub-district. This fund is de- 
voted to the purchase of grounds and the 
building of school houses. 

107. School OfQcers. — The educa- 
tional system of Iowa embraces the whole 
state. Its officers are, a state superin- 
tendent of public instruction, a county 
superintendent of common schools in each 
county, and directors of each school dis- 
trict. 

108. The Superintendent of Public 
Instruction is elected by the people of 
the whole state at the general election. 
His term of office is two years. He is 
numbered among the state officers, and 
must have his office at the capital. He 
has general supervision of all the county 
superintendents, and of the common 
schools of the state. He must give a 
written opinion on matters pertaining to 
school law, to any school officer who may 
ask for it, and decide all cases appealed 
to him from the county superintendents. 



He must make a printed report to each 
general assembly at its regular session. 
In this report he must give a statement of 
the condition of the schools of the whole 
state, and also his plans for their future 
improvement. 

109. The County Superintendent is 
numbered among the county officers of 
each county, and like them he holds his 
office two years. He has the general 
oversight of school affairs in his county, 
and reports their condition and progress 
to the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion. Among his duties is the examina- 
tion of teachers in the common branches, 
and the issuing of certificates to them, if 
their examination is satisfactory. 

110. Directors. — Both township dis- 
tricts and independent districts are gov- 
erned by directors. Each township dis- 
trict must have at least three directors to 
constitute the board, and one director in 
addition for every sub-district, more than 
three, that the district may be divided 
into. These directors are usually called 
sub-direciors, because there is one elected 
from and by the voters of each sub-dis- 
trict, and because each sub-director has 
especial oversight of school affairs in his 
sub-district. Directors of independent 
districts are not called sub-directors, be- 
cause their districts are not divided into 
sub-districts. Sub-directors are elected 
annually, in the spring. All boards of 
directors have the general management of 
school affairs in their districts. Tney 
make all purchases, employ teachers, de- 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. 



termine the place where new school 
houses shall be built, what number of 
schools, and what studies shall be taught, 
and how much longer than six months in 
each year the school shall be kept. They 
may establish graded schools. They must 
visit the schools and provide rules for 
their government, and require their ob- 
servance. 

111. Independent School Districts. 
— Directors of independent districts are 
elected by the voters of the whole district. 
Their term of oQlce is three years. If the 
district has less than five hundred inhab- 
itants, the number of directors is three. 
If more than five hundred, the number of 
directors is six. They possess the same 
powers that other boards of directors 
have, and also the further power to issue 
the bonds of the district for the purpose 
of raising money to build school houses. 

112. District Schools. — It is the ob- 
ject of the school system to provide in- 
struction for all youth in at least the 
common branches, namely, — orthogra- 
phy, reading, writing, arithmetic, geog- 
raphy, English grammar, history of the 
United States, and elementary physiology. 
In the majority of the schools of the state 
these branches only are tanght. Such 
schools are commonly called " district 
schools," but any school board may grade 
its schools' and add higher branches. 

113. Graded Schools. — When schools 
are large it is necessary to grade them. 
The studies of all the branches, common 
and higher, are divided into grades, and 



the scholars are assigned to the classes in 
each grade according to their advance- 
ment. There is yet no established rule 
in the state by which grades are defined 
and designated. It is, however, becoming 
the custom to designate them as primary, 
intermediate, grammar, and high schools. 

114. High Schools. — The law pro- 
vides that there may be "county high 
schools" established, in certain cases, and 
a board of trustees elected to manage 
them, independently of the board of 
directors, in whos>) district the high 
school may be established. The high 
schools now established, however, are not 
usually of this kind, but have been organ- 
ized by the board of directors in inde- 
pendent districts. These are among the 
city schools that have become so widely 
known for their excellence. The courses 
of study in these high schools often in- 
clude, among other branches, the natural 
sciences, higher mathematics, and ancient 
and modern languages. The law contem- 
plates that, so far as practicable, the high 
schools of the state shall form an intimate 
connection between the public schools 
and the state university. Some of the 
high schools have courses of study so ar- 
ranged as to prepare students to enter the 
freshman class of the academic depart- 
ment of the university. This department 
then completes the public school system 
of the state. 

115. Teachers' Institutes. — Teach- 
ers are constantly adding to their pro- 
ficiency by experience, especially if they 



THE STATE UNIVERSITY AND STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



79 



have opportunities for the interchange 
with other teachers of ideas and plans for 
the improvement of their schools. For 
this purpose teachers' institutes are held, 
where lectures are delivered and the teach- 



ers discuss subjects pertaining to their 
profession. These institutes formerly re- 
ceived special encouragement and support 
from the state, but this is now unfortu- 
nately withdrawn. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE STATE UNIVERSITY AND STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



Section 1. State University. 

116. The State University is located 
at Iowa City. It consists of four separate 
departments, namely, — the academical (or 
collegiate), the normal, the law, and the 
medical. The university is governed by 
a board of regents, who are elected, or 
designated, by the general assembly. 

117. The Academical Department 
not only constitutes the crowning portion 
of the public school system of the state, 
but it is also the center around which the 
professional departments are clustered. 
Tuition is free in the academical depart- 
ment, each student paying only fifteen 
dollars a year for incidental expenses. By 
means of this grand system of instruction, 
any of the youth of Iowa may pass from 
the lowest grade of the common schools 
to a full collegiate education, all without 
the payment of any fee, except the uni- 
versity incidental fee before named. The 
degrees of bachelor of arts, bachelor of 
philosophy, and civil engineer are con- 
ferred in this department. 



118. The Normal Department.— The 

work of this department is the instruction 
and preparation of teachers for the public 
schools, especially the graded schools. To 
the graduates of this department, after 
two years of successful teaching, the de- 
gree of bachelor of didactics is given. 

119. The Medical 'Department con- 
sists of a medical college for the instruc- 
tion of persons in medicine and surgery. 
Its graduates receive the degree of doctor 
of medicine. 

120. The Law Department prepares 
persons for the profession of law. Upon 
finishing the full course of study they re- 
ceive the degree of bachelor of laws, and 
are admitted to practice in any of the courts 
of the state, including the supreme court. 

121. Endowment. — The permanent 
endowment of the university is derived 
from lands donated by the United States, 
and from other lands donated by the state. 
The first building of the university, now 
known as the " middle hall," was erected 



80 



THE STATE UNIVERSITY AND STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



by the United States, as a capitol for Iowa 
territory, and it afterward became the 
state capitol. When the seat of govern- 
ment was removed from Iowa City to Des 
Moines, the state donated this building, 
together with the ten acres of ground up- 
on which it stands, to the university. The 
permanent endowment is not sufficient 
for its needs, but the general assembly, 
from time to time, makes appropriations 
of money from the state treasury to pay the 
necessary expenses, and to erect adai- 
tional buildings as they are required. 

Section 2. State Agricultural College. 

122. The State Agricultural College 

is located on a large farm, near Ames, 
Story county. Many of the usual collegiate 
branches are fully taught at this college, 
but its especial object is "to teach such 
branches of learning as are related to ag- 
riculture and mechanic arts, in order to 
promote the liberal and practical educa- 
tion of the industrial classes in the sev- 
eral pursuits and professions of life." It 
has two departments, the agricultural and 
mechanical. It is governed by a board of 
trustees, who are elected or designated by 
the general assembly. 



123. The Agricultural Department. 

— In this department the leading studies 
have especial reference to agriculiure 
proper, horticulture, stock-breeding, and 
the management of nurseries. 

124. The Mechanical Department 

provides courses of instruction in mechan- 
ical engineering, civil engineering, mining 
engineering, and architecture. 

125. Manual Labor. — Two and a 
half hours daily of manual labor are re- 
quired of every student. For this, how- 
ever, they receive stipulated wages. 

126. Students all board at the college. 
They pay nothing for tuition and rent of 
rooms, and pay only actual cost for board, 
washing, &c. 

127. Endowment. — The permanent 
endowment of the college is derived from 
a very large donation of land, made by 
the United States for that purpose. Be- 
sides this, the general assembly, from 
time to time, makes such appropriations 
of money from the state treasury as may 
be required for the erection of buildings, 
and for other purposes. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 



128. Charity a Duty of the State. 
— It is the duty of the state to make pro- 
vision for the unfortunate. Therefore it 
has established institutions for the educa- 
tion of the blind, the deaf and dumb, and 
the orphans of soldiers. These are also 
charitable institutions, because the pupils 
are supported as well as instructed. There 
are also hospitals established for the treat- 
ment of the insane. All these institu- 
tions are governed by boards of trustees, 
appointed or designated by the general 
assembly. 

129. Hospitals for the Insane. — 

There are two of these, one located at 
Mount Pleasant, in Henry county, and 
the other at Independence, in Buchanan 
county. It was formerly supposed, when 
persons became insane, that there was no 
reason to hope for their recovery, and 
they were usually confined in some pri- 
vate place that they might not harm them- 
selves or others. Now insanity is regarded 
as a disease, and insane persons are treated 
with all possible care and kindness, as the 
sick are. By such treatment a large pro- 
portion of insane persons recover their 
reason and become useful citizens again. 
As it is not often possible to give them 
proper care and attention at their homes, 
the hospitals are established for this pur- 
pose, and not merely to serve as asylums 
where insane persons may be conj&ned. 



The friends of the insane are expected to 
pay a part of the expense of their care 
and treatment. If they are not able to do 
so, this amount is paid by the county from 
which the patient comes. 

130. The Institution for the Edu- 
cation of the Deaf and Dumb is located 
at Council Bluffs. Pupils between the 
ages often and twenty-five years only are 
admitted. They are permitted to remain 
at the institution seven years, if they com- 
mence soon enough to finish before they 
are twenty-five years old. They are 
taught the common branches, using the 
common printed books, and the sign-lan- 
guage also. Board and tuition are free 
to all pupils of the state. 

131. The College for the Blind is lo- 
cated at Vinton, in Benton county. The 
institution is strictly educational. The 
school year is about nine months long. 
Pupils receive board and tuition free dur- 
ing the session of the school. 

132. Soldiers' Orphans* Homes. — 
There are three of these homes, one at 
Davenport, one at Cedar Falls, in Black 
Hawk county, and the other at Glenwood, 
in Mills county. All youth, who are or 
who may become orphans of those who 
were soldiers in the union army in the 
great rebellion, are entitled to admittance. 
These institutions are schools as well as 



82 



PENAL AND REFORMATION INSTITUTIONS. 



homes, and the pupils receive instruction 
in the common branches. Thus the state 
provides as well for the children of those 
who were its faithful soldiers, as they 
would have been provided for, in most 
cases, if their fathers had lived to do it. 

133, Oo-Education of the Sexes. — 
In Iowa males and females enjoy equally 
the educational advantages afforded by 
the state. They are admitted on equal 
terms, not only to its public schools, but 
to all classes in all departments of its 
higher educational institutions. 



134. Other Schools and Colleges.— 

Besides the public schools and institu- 
tions already mentioned, there are many 
other schools and colleges in the state. 
The people of some religious denom- 
inations prefer to have their children 
taught in schools that are under con- 
trol of their church. The Catholics 
have many such schools. Several of 
the Protestant denominations have es- 
tablished colleges in the state. There 
are now twelve such colleges in success- 
ful operation. 



CHAPTER IX. 



PENAL AND REFORMATION INSTITUTIONS. 



135. Penitentiaries. — Persons con- 
victed of crime before the courts are often 
sentenced to be confined at hard labor for 
a greater or less number of years, accord- 
ing to the nature of the crime. To pro- 
vide for the execution of such sentences, 
penitentiaries are established. Within 
strong enclosures secure cells are provided 
for the confinement of the prisoners .at 
night, and workshops, also, in which they 
are required to labor by day. There are 
two penitentiaries in Iowa, one at Fort 
Madison, in Lee county, and another at 
Anamosa, in Jones county. 

136. Reform Schools. — A large pro- 
portion of the criniiuuls who are brought 
before the courts are found to have com- 



menced a career of crime while they were 
yet children. It is much better to pre- 
vent crime than to merely punish crimi- 
nals. Therefore reform schools have 
been established, to which such boys are 
sent as have commenced a career of crime, 
or who are unruly and vicious in their hab- 
its. This is, in part, a punishment for the 
offenses they have already committed, but 
mainly to reform them and make good 
citizens of them. They are treated kindly 
and taught the'common branches of edu- 
cation. They are also taught useful em- 
ployment, so that they may have less 
temptation to return to their vicious hab- 
its when they are released. There is yet 
but one of these institutions in Iowa. It 
is located at Eldora, in Hardin county. 



QUESTIONS TO PART II. 



CHAPTER I. 

1. What is meant by the right of discovery ? 

2. What nation first claimed the land of Iowa 
by this right ? 

3. Who made the discovery ? How and when ? 

4. To what nation did France cede it? 

5. Explain the Lousiana purcliase. 

6. Did the United States recognize any right 
of the Indians to the hind ? 

7. Name the territorial governments that 
have had jurisdiction over the land of Iowa, with 
the dates of each. 

8. When was Iowa admitted into the Union 
as a State ? 

9. Where was the capital then? 

10. Where was it removed to from there, and 
when ? 

11. Where is the capital now? When was it 
established there? 

12. Were there probably other people living 
here before the Indi;uis which the white people 
found when they came ? 

13. What evidence of it is found ? 

14. What tribes of Indians occupied Iowa at 
the time of the Louisiana purchase? 

15. How many treaties have been held with 
the Indians to purchase the land ? 

16. Between what dates were these treaties held? 

17. When were white people first permitted to 
settle in Iowa? 

18. What is meant by the " Black Hawk pur- 
chase ? " 

19. What towns were first settled ? 

20. What was the population of Iowa when it 
became a state, in 1846 ? 

21. What was its population in 1850, 1860, and 
1870? 

22. Where was the first railroad train run from 
in Iowa? When? 

23. How many soldiers went from Iowa to the 
War of the Great Rebellion? 

24. About how many Post Offices were there 
in Iowa in 1870? 

25. How are Post Offices established, and Post- 
masters appointed? 



CHAPTER II. 

1. What constitutes the supreme law of the 
nation ? 

2. Name the branches of the United States 
Government. 

3. What does the Legislative branch consist 
of? 

4. How many Senators and Representatives 
from each State ? 

5. In whom is the Executive branch vested ? 
His term of office? 

6. In whom is the Judicial branch vested? 
Their term of office? 

7. How are they appointed to office? 

8. What is the Constitution of a State ? 

9. What must be done before a new State can 
be admitted into the Union ? 

10. What is meant by the " old Constitution " 
and new Constitution of Iowa? 

11. When was the old changed for the new ? 

12. When was the word " white" stricken out 
of the Constitution ? Why ? 

13. What is the " Bill of Rights ? " 

14. What is the right of suffrage ? 

15. Name the departments of the State Govern- 
ment. 

16. What is the object of the Legislative de- 
partment ? 

17. What is the General Assembly? What 
does it consist of? 

18. How often, and when, does the General 
Assembly meet ? 

19. What is the term of office of Senators ? Of 
Representatives ? 

20. How old must Senators be? Representa* 
tives ? 

21. Who is the presiding officer of the Senate ? 
Of the House of Representatives ? 

22. What is a bill ? How does a bill become a 
law? 

23. In whom is the executive power of the State 
vested ? 

24. Who are eligible to the office of Governor? 

25. How is he elected? His term of office? 

26. What are his duties? 



84 QUESTIONS 


TO PART II. 




27. State the eligibility, term of oflSce, and du- 


14. Name the officers of a city of the eecond 




ties, of the Lieutenant-Governor. 


class. Their terms of office. 




28. Name the other officers of State and their 


15. What are incorporated towns ? Their offi- 




terms of office. 


cers and terms of office ? 




29. Explain the duties of each. 






30. What comprises the Judicial department? 


CHAPTER IV. 




31. Name the officers of the Supreme Court. 






32. How are the Supreme Judges elected? 


1. What is a municipal government? 




Their term of office? 


2. How many classes of cities are there, and 




I 33. What are the functions of the Supreme 


how divided? 




! Court? 


3. What is a city of the fi rst class ? 




' 34. Explain the duties of the other officers of 


4. Explain the duties of the mayor and council 




the Supreme Court ? 


of a city ? 




35. What are judicial districts? 


5. What other officers co.istitute a city govern- 




36. What is the difference in the business of 


ment? 




the Circuit and District Courts ? 


6. How does a city of the second class difier 




1 37. Name the officers of these Courts respect- 


from a town. 




ively. Their duties. 






38. How are United States Senators elected ? 


CHAPTER V. 




Their term of office? 






39. How are Representatives in Congress elect- 


1. Name the different ki tids of elections. 




ed ? Their term of office ? 


2. What officers are elected at the general 




40. What are congressional districts? 


election? 




41. Who constitute the militia of the State? 


3, Describe the manner of holding the general 




For what purpose? 


election. 




42. Who may be exempt from military duty ? 


4. What is tho ballot-box? The canvass? The 




How? 


returns? 

5. What are municipal elections ? School elec- 




CHAPTER III. 


tions? Special elections? 

6. What is the oath of office ? 




1. How many counties in the State? 


7. What other matters may be decided at 




2. What gives them their commonly rectan- 


elections? 




gular outline? 


8. What are the primary meetings? 




3. What is a county-seat ? 


9. Why are taxes necessary? How levied? 




4. What is the Poor House? 


How paid? 




5. Name the county officers and their terms 


10. What property is exempt from taxation? 




-^f office. 


11. What is road tax ? Who must pay it? 




6. Explain the duties of each officer. 






7. How are Notaries Public appointed ? Their 


CHAPTER VI. 




8. What are civil townships? 


1. Who are entitled to instruction in the pub- 




9. Name the township officers and their terms 


lic schools? 




of office. 


2. How long in each year must all schools be 




10. Explain the duties of each officer. 


kept? 




11. Into what classes are cities divided? 


8. Explain the organization of school districts. 




12. Name the officers of a city of the first class. 


4. Under whose control are the school funds? 




Their terms of office. 


5. How is the general school fund divided? 




13. Explain the duties of each officer. 


6. Whence are the school funds derived? 





QUESTIONS TO PART II. 



85 



7. Name the school oflScers. Their duties and 
terms of office. 

8. What are " district schools ? " 

9. How are graded schools divided ? 
10 What are county High Schools? 
11. What are Teachers' Institutes? 



CHAPTER VII. 



Where is the University located ? 

Name its departments. 

What degrees are conferred ? 

How is the University supported? 

How is it governed ? 

Where is the Agricultural College located ? 

Name its departments. 

8. What is its especial object? 

9. What rule concerning labor of students ? 
Their board? 

10. How is the College supported ? 

11. How is it governed ? 



HAPTER VIII. 

1. Name the charitable and special education- 
al institutions of Iowa. 



2. Where are the Hospitals for th Insane lo- 
cated? 

3. What can you say concerning the treatment 
of the insane ? 

4 How are the expenses of the patients paid ? 

5. Where is the Institution for he Deaf and 
Dumb located ? 

6. Who may be admitted ? 

7. How are their expenses paid ? 

8. Where is the College for the Blind located ? 

9. Who may be admitted ? How are their ex- 
penses paid ? 

10. How long is their school year? 

11. What are the Soldiers' Orphans' Homes ? 
Where located ? Who may be admitted ? 
What are they taught ? 

12. Are males and females admitted equally to 
all classes in the State institutions ? 

13. What can you say of other educational in- 
stitutions in Iowa ? 

CHAPTER rX. 

Where are the Penitentiaries located ? 
How are they constructed ? What are they for ? 
Explain the purpose of the Reform School. 
Where is it located ? 



H 62 90 :^ 






■ T ii tt I « ■ - II I I "JV}f! ' '^ ' '' '""i ' 



LIST OP SCHOOL BOOKS 



Ptrrj-msFiED BY 



Day, p:gbfvRT. & Fidlar, 

Successors to Ongps, \/atscii, d Day. 
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ELEMENTS 



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^antitative Induction 

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A Guide for Students in the Laboratory and Lecture Room. . 
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Pr\ct., $1,56, 

FIRST' LESSONS 



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Simil/tr 'ni Kti/le 'nid size to Geography of Toyfa. 

ELEMENTS OF PHYSICS,-] 

Demonstrate ' t:v the Student's own Experiments. 

Bv < -ilAVUS HlNP.lrHS, A.M., 1.. 

Profewwr of Pl.ysi il -^^Due In tho fritate University oTUnri. 



Language .and Composition. 

Mini to Ciiltivdte ilie Art of Expression. 

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PRESERVATION TECH.NOLOGtES. LP. 
1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township. PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 













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BINDERY INC. 

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N. MANCHESTER, 
INDIANA 46962 




